Labyrinth of the Heart
by Amber Evans Potter
Summary: Author's Note - soon to be off hiatus. This is the sequel to 'Twists and Turns'. Michu, Sarah, Jareth, Almanac, and Toby are back in the final chapter of the Labyrinth.
1. Prologue

Chapter: Prologue  
  
"Is she powerful?"  
  
"P-powerful? Oh yes! She's the most powerful person you'd ever meet! My Velderia is the strongest of pixies; fit to challenge even the Goblin King!"  
  
"What is her role in the prophecy?"  
  
"She's destined to have a child with the King of Dreams. That child will be raised as a mortal and she will fight in the next Great War and side with the eternal Savior."  
  
"And how did you try to stop it?"  
  
"I used a potion that made my daughter forget who she was in love with. Her love was intensified and forced to be directed towards the Goblin King. It's worked so far since she is living in the mortal realm and the King of Dreams is slowly letting his kingdom fall to ruin."  
  
"And no one has tried to stop you? There is no one standing in the way?"  
  
"There's the Goblin King himself as well as the King of Dreams. My daughter won't stand for it if she knew what I'd done to her."  
  
"Is there anyone else?"  
  
"Well, there is that mortal girl Sarah. She is the Goblin King's wife and the mother to his two children. And she is also my daughter's best friend. She holds the most powerful sway over my daughter's icy heart."  
  
"You have served your purpose."  
  
"What are you doing?! No! Stop! Please don't! You promised!"  
  
"You hold no use for me anymore."  
  
"No! Stop! Please! Velderia, help me! Daughter! Help me! STOP!! PLEASE STOP!!"  
  
"Now you shall bear the burns of those lies that you have spoken to save your own life. I'm sure your daughter would thank me for punishing you so."  
  
"How could you do this to me? I helped you. I told you of the ancient prophecy and how to fight my daughter. I told you of her skills in dagger fighting and her archery. I even told you of her victories on the battle field. How could you betray me?"  
  
"Is it really so difficult to believe when you betrayed your own daughter? Even your own husband came to his death because of your betrayal. It was your information that was the death of your children, mortal."  
  
"I'm not a mortal! I am the Queen of the Pixies! And don't laugh at me!"  
  
"I'm laughing, because you are no longer a pixie or a royal. Your daughter is now the Queen and you are no more than filth beneath all the kingdoms; you are worse than a mortal. You are nothing."  
  
"No! You can't leave me like this! Please help me!"  
  
"Goodbye, filth-that-is-nothing. When I kill your daughter and stop the heir from ever being born, than I shall remember to honor you. After all, I owe you nothing."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: *peeks out at everyone* I'm ba-ack! ^.^ Did you guys miss me? I hope you guys are ready for this! Be confused, be very confused! Enjoy and send me lots of reviews like last time! For all of you new guys: this will make more than a whole lot of sense if you read the first fic called 'Twists and Turns'. If you want to read this one first because you're as stubborn as a mule, be my guest. It's something I would do. ^.^ 


	2. Prison of the Mind

Chapter: Prologue  
  
"Hey there Jake." Jake turned towards the voice and smirked. He jogged towards the tall blond haired man. His eyes were a soft sky blue and his face held a very beautiful innocence and sense of otherworldliness. Jake couldn't help but feel that he'd seen that same presence on someone else as well but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.  
  
"Hey Toby." Jake smirked at his best friend and kept pace with him as they walked.  
  
Toby and Jake had been best friends since they had met at the age of thirteen. Toby had been a quiet, reserved boy and had shunned Jake away from him at first. When Jake found out about his sister's death, he was pushy to become friends with him. They had formed a strong friendship and had retained that friendship even in law school (where they went together).  
  
Both young men were bachelors, lawyers, and basically women magnets. Most guys wondered how they attracted so many women but Jake secretly knew that it was actually Toby who attracted all of the girls. He had a way of smiling when he actually smiled and he just made a person feel welcome and wanted. He was very good at that.  
  
The two of them shared an apartment in New Jersey (where they lived) and together they formed a somewhat strange friendship. Jake was out-going and loved to party hard and drink until he dropped. Toby, on the other hand, preferred to stay in the shadows and read a book instead of sticking around when Jake was drunk. As a matter of fact, Toby had actually saved Jake several times when he was too drunk to do anything safe (which included trying to get another girl who didn't even know into a room with him).  
  
Toby was in one of his quieter moods. Jake had noticed that Toby was a lot quieter during Christmas time and preferred to stay to himself reading the same book over and over. Jake had actually caught Toby crying once and throwing the book across the room hard. Before Jake could do anything, Toby had gotten up and retrieved the book. When he sat back down, he would keep muttering, "It wasn't real, they were only messing with my head."  
  
"Are we meeting Tina for lunch or what?" Jake asked as the two of them walked across the street. Some people were rushing through the snow, their coats pulled tightly over them and their hands filled with bags and gifts. The stores were filled with green and red and massive signs with promises of wonderful sales were plastered on every free inch of wall that there was. Toby pulled up his brown overcoat tighter around his body and Jake couldn't help but mimic his actions. Both were clad in blue jeans and a turtle neck of a different color but both could feel the chill through their coats.  
  
"You'd better be!" Both guys turned around to discover a very tall woman glaring playfully at them with her hands on her hips. She was a beautiful girl with chocolate colored skin and ember colored eyes. She wore a red Christmas hat with white fluff at the tip of the night-cap styled hat. She also wore a red turtleneck and blue green pants under her red overcoat. Her lips curled into a fierce smirk as her breath came out in a white cloud of warmth.  
  
"Did you really think that we would forget?" Jake asked with a playful smile. Tina lifted a long finger and shook it at them.  
  
"You'd better not have planned to skip out on me! I was going to go to lunch with some other friends but I cancelled them to go with you guys! Let's go before the restaurant gets too packed with all of these gift- hunters." All three of them moved out of the cold and into the warm pizzeria just a few blocks away.  
  
Inside was warm and toasty and cheerful laughter bubbled up from all corners of the busy place. Greens and reds were predominating all over the restaurant and even the waiters were wearing a bit of mistletoe on their name tags.  
  
"So what have you been up to?" Jake asked as he pulled off his overcoat and rubbed his numbed fingers together to return feeling to them. Tina smirked, showing off her barbarously sharp white teeth.  
  
"I've been working out mostly and I've just come back from teaching a Judo class." Jake smirked and Toby chuckled.  
  
Tina was a skilled martial artist who loved to kick anyone's ass. She had been fighting since the age of five and knew just about every way to physical harm someone. One thing that she really prided herself on was acupuncture. She knew very important pressure points that could immobilize someone or even kill them. She had never killed anyone but she knew exactly where to hit someone if she needed to get away from them. She'd actually saved her life using this technique when she had been traveling in France. She'd been cornered by far too many men and they all wanted to rape her. She'd stopped all of them cold, called the police, and escaped with only a broken arm and many bruises.  
  
"You didn't hurt anyone TOO badly, did you?" Tina shrugged casually and Jake groaned just remembering a demonstration that Tina had done for him. He'd wanted to see how good she was and he had stupidly volunteers himself. Tina had made mince meat out of him and Toby could be seen on the sidelines laughing himself silly.  
  
"I hope you aren't mad that I borrowed this." Tina took out a little blue book from inside of her bag and handed it to Toby. He stiffened involuntarily and snatched it away from Tina. She blinked in surprise. She had been known to take things from the guys' apartment but she always returned the things at one point or another. She had seen the little blue book in one of the drawers by Toby's bed and she had been so interested by its title, she had taken it to read without even realizing.  
  
Toby strained a smile and lifted the book.  
  
"This is the original." He whispered. His voice came out filled with emotion and anguish at the memories that the book invoked. "The author herself gave this to me as a gift. Please don't take it again; I was looking everywhere for it." Jake felt a sense of danger spread throughout his body.  
  
Toby had been tearing the house apart lately looking for something as if his very life depended on it. At first Jake had thought it was an old case fill or even some kind of evidence to help his clients (Toby tended to take his work deathly serious) and hadn't thought much of it. All of that fuss had been over the little book? It was clenched in his hands innocently and Jake just made out the title.  
  
"Hey! That's the book 'Dead Dreams'!" Jake said in astonishment. Toby glanced at the book and nodded. "It's world famous. You knew the author?" A very pained expression came over Toby and he struggled to smile.  
  
"Yeah, I knew her." He whispered. There was a tense silence and Tina cleared her throat. She didn't like tension very much: it cramped her style.  
  
"So what case do you guys have to crack this time? Is Chris joining you in this mystery murder?" Jake shook his head and nervously rummaged in his bag and then handed Toby the case file he had been given earlier. Before Toby opened it, Jake told him what he knew (not remembering what Chris had told him about the convict earlier that day).  
  
"The victim's name was Sarah Williams and she was in her mid twenties when her supposed best friend killed her: Michu Phixie. She was violently murdered and I highly suggest that you don't look at the photos unless you haven't eaten anything or if you have a stomach of iron. You do so go right ahead."  
  
Toby had paled drastically at the name and very slowly opened the file. After starring at some of the pictures, he handed back the case file with trembling hands. Toby looked away and wouldn't say anything even though his entire body was trembling and his lips were set into a straight line.  
  
"Is something wrong, Toby?" Tina asked worriedly. Her brush-stroke eyebrows came together in worry as she placed a hand on Toby's trembling knuckles. She was slightly surprised to discover that his hands were freezing to the touch.  
  
"I'm fine." His voice cracked on the last word and he shook his head and took several deep breaths.  
  
"What's wrong?! Tell us!" Jake said urgently. He took Toby's other hand and tried to comfort his friend. To his surprise, tears were welling up in Toby's eyes and he glanced at the door, looking for an escape. When he realized that Tina would probably hunt him down and hold him to a wall by force until he answered, Toby took a deep, shuddering breath and a bitter smile crossed his face.  
  
"Sarah Williams was my older sister."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to JLF, ShopGirl42, Jenny, draegon_fire, BatBLady, Lady Sorrow, Megan, Flaming Fae, Queen of the Underground, General Sephiroth, and Teller (cowers beneath her wrath. Forgive me! Please! Here's more!). You guys are totally awesome! I'm so sorry that I made you guys wait and then gave you such a question-provoking first chapter that was so short. I hope this chapter made up for it at least a little bit. ^.^ Questions will be answered along the way and remember everyone, Sarah is NOT dead! (I'm not doing this to be mean to you, Lady Sorrow; I just don't want everyone confused about the wrong thing. I hope your cold is gone!) 


	3. Is Shattered Just in Time

Chapter: Is Shattered Just in Time  
  
Toby was shaking violently as he walked through the heavy silver-like metal door and slowly sat down in the iron chair waiting for him. The room was quite plain with black walls and a metal table facing him with an identical metal chair on the other side. There was also a lie detector machine waiting innocently by the empty chair with a tough-looking guard looming over it threateningly. Jake watched his best friend worriedly but Toby had placed a dark mask over his features and stopped shaking.  
  
The door opened eerily and three people entered. The first man was very tall and bulky with a name tag in black with white letters saying 'Isaac'. He wore a blue shirt and black pants with a gun strapped to his black belt and his shinning black shoes reflecting the overhead lamp strangely. An identical man followed with a nametag that read 'Jim'.  
  
Trudging quietly between them in shackles and a blue jumpsuit was a beautiful woman. Her lavender hair brushed her ears and her eyes sparkled defiantly at those that she saw as she entered the room. The light from above made her skin shine but she didn't seem to notice its hard glare as she took the iron seat across from Toby.  
  
Jake saw his best friend stiffen but then slowly relax back into his chair. Toby couldn't hide the white of his knuckles, however, as he grasped the arms of his chair. Once the woman was seated, she looked over the two young men for a long moment without any expression on her face.  
  
"Good morning Ms. Phixie." Jake said at last, seeing that he would be the one that had to break the tense silence. The woman raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. She sat back in her seat and starred squarely into Jake's eyes. The harsh white lights that should have blinded her only served to form long, black shadows over her face.  
  
"Good morning." The woman said at last. She remained emotionless but something in the way she held herself told them that she wasn't in the least bit interested in being there. Toby starred at her for a long time before he opened a folder and looked around in it.  
  
"Ms. Phixie, we have several questions to ask you." Toby said. The woman raised her eyebrow again but said nothing. "We would like for you to please answer them all truthfully and clearly." Again the woman said nothing and merely starred at them.  
  
"Why did you kill her?" Jake demanded as he came to sit in the iron seat right beside Toby. Tina and Toby had worked with him to get a good interrogation planned out for her. The woman seemed to consider the question.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Sarah Williams."  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"Why did you do it?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Kill her!"  
  
"Kill who?"  
  
"Your best friend!"  
  
"What about my best friend?"  
  
"Why did you kill her?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Stop playing!"  
  
"Playing what?"  
  
"Stop it!"  
  
"Stop what?"  
  
Jake sat back in shock, his face red from frustration. As he looked at the woman, a very sly smile twitched at her lips but she suppressed it quickly. Toby starred hard at her.  
  
"Why won't you answer our questions?" Jake demanded angrily.  
  
"What questions? You haven't asked the right ones." The woman said as if that answer was obvious. Toby turned towards a mirror to his left and nodded. The woman turned sharply when she saw the movement and starred at the mirror as if she could see right through it. The iron door opened and two people entered.  
  
The first was a dark haired man with bulky muscles and a very kind face. Currently, tears were streaming down his face and his brown eyes were bright red and puffy. He also wore a black suit with a black shirt, the white shirt he wore underneath making his face look very pale. Beside him stood a very beautiful but slim woman who wore a modest blue dress. Her beautiful blond hair was tied into a ponytail and her blue eyes were also streaming with tears as she sniffed loudly.  
  
The woman starred at them for a long time before the woman rushed forward and slapped her! The prisoner's face remained turned away for a long moment before she looked back at the panting woman in the blue dress. Her cheek was turning bright red from where she had been slapped.  
  
"You bitch! How could you kill Sarah?!" The woman in the blue dress spat viciously. She slapped her again but the prisoner said and did nothing. When she realized that the person she was talking to wasn't going to respond, she turned to the man for support.  
  
The man came forward and loomed over her imposingly. For a long time they starred directly into each other's eyes and then the prisoner went flying! She hit the ground hard and her shackles rattled terribly at the sudden movement of its captive. She made no sound as she got up from the floor and she didn't even touch the place on her cheek where the man's fist had connected with her bone.  
  
"How could you?" He whispered. The woman starred at him emotionlessly from the floor. When she didn't answer, he rushed forward and grabbed her by the collar of her blue jumper! Shaking her viciously, he screamed at her with all of his might. "HOW COULD YOU MICHU?!"  
  
Toby was watching with cold indifference. He should have stopped it but he hadn't moved a muscle since the two had entered the room. Jake was glancing between his friend and the group worriedly.  
  
"You're just angry that Sarah didn't love you." Her voice shocked the man into letting her go. She glared directly into his eyes with that emotionless expression on her face. "You're upset that she didn't turn a hair when you told her of your affair with Selena. You hate that you couldn't tell her how much you wanted her, Will. Unfortunately, she wouldn't have cared." They starred at each other for a long time before Michu glanced at the guards who had taken her into the room in the first place. "If that's all, I'll be leaving now."  
  
"Michu." Everyone turned to Toby in shock. Jake could feel a cold shiver passing up his spine at the look of pure hatred that was being sent to Michu by the usually warm-hearted Toby.  
  
"Yes?" Michu said with another raised eyebrow. Jake could feel his breathing stop and then his heart pounding in his ears.  
  
"You still don't recognize me?" He asked coldly, his eyes still boring into Michu as hers starred right back into his without even flinching. When Michu said nothing, Toby's eyes narrowed. "It's me; Toby."  
  
The result of those words was instantaneous. During the entire time that she had been there, the prisoner had shown little to no emotions and even when she'd been his in the face several times by people who had been her friends for a long time, she hadn't done anything to show any kind of weakness. Michu's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in horror this time and she made a strange chocking sound deep inside of her throat.  
  
"Toby?" She whispered limply, her eyes huge and glistening. Jake couldn't help but feel surprised that she was experiencing so many emotions that she was on the verge of tears when even being knocked to the ground hadn't made her loose her dignity.  
  
"Take her back to her cell now." Toby told the guards. Michu starred at him as they pulled her out of the room and she tried to hang back just to watch him intently with hurt written all over her eyes and face. She was pushed out and Jake stuck his head out of the door to see her still glancing behind her eagerly just to catch a glimpse of Toby if she could.  
  
After only seeing Jake, her proud shoulders slumped her entire body seemed to cave in on itself as she dragged her suddenly heavy feet towards her cage and even her head was against her chest when it had always been held high and proud.  
  
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Toby. This was never supposed to involve you." Michu whispered beneath her breath, far too low to be heard by anyone but herself. As she was pushed into her cell and other woman laughed and jeered at her, tears welled up in her eyes and something snapped inside of her.  
  
His look of absolute rage and loathing, his hurt eyes, his defiant stance, everything about him was a reflection of herself and how she'd felt when her mother had betrayed her for the last time.  
  
Michu screamed so loudly that everyone fell silent and Jake again stuck his head out of the iron room with its black walls and the two astonished people still starring at the place that Michu had been moments before. Toby closed his eyes and ignored the anguished shrieks that roared through the compound and silenced all talk for hours.  
  
That night was spent doing nothing but screaming, crying, and having nothing but nightmares.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to the Flaming Safety Pin Nazi, JLF, terrie, Jenny, draegon_fire, Lady Sorrow, Megan, darkfaerie, General Sephiroth, and Silver Space. You guys are totally awesome! Sorry this took so long. I promise I won't be so bad now that I'm actually ORGANIZED! *holds up Lord of the Rings planner* I'm special you see! ^.^ I hope you guys liked this chapter. The fun stuff is coming, I swear! 


	4. Again Old Friends Must Meet

Chapter: Again Old Friends Must Meet  
  
The night had been a rough one. Neighboring prisoners had become slightly accustomed to waking up in the middle of the night from screams but never so terrifying as those that had come from a usually quiet quarter. No one dared to challenge her or even attempt to bother Michu as she walked dazedly through the prison, her eyes unfocused and even her limbs lifeless.  
  
Jake had been shocked by the sudden change in the previously proud and sharp woman. She had come across as powerful and regal, her dignity above showing the slightest bit of emotion besides cold indifference and measured amusement. Now she was like a child who had been beaten by her own parents for the first time, too confused and too young to understand what was going on.  
  
"Is there something the matter, Sir?" Jake was shocked out of his thoughts when he remembered the man sitting in front of him. Mr. Koblin was a very handsome and tall man with long limbs, icy blond hair tied into a neat ponytail, a black suit, and changeling eyes. One eye was an amused brown but the other was like a glacier.  
  
"Excuse me Mr. Koblin, I didn't mean to daze off. I've had quite a lot on my mind as of late and I'm a bit prone to distraction. Won't you please follow me? The client is waiting with my partner, Mr. Williams." The man stiffened for a fraction of a second but he instantly rose. Jake didn't even notice anything strange about his movements.  
  
As the two walked through the corridors of the prison, Jake felt a shudder pass up his spine when he noticed that everyone fell silent when they saw Mr. Koblin. Could it have been that he emitted that cold presence, or was it perhaps the dismissive glare that he passed over them? Either way, there was something so cruel about his very aura that unnerved anyone that looked at him. The cold-blooded murderers knew that they were now in the presence of the master of death and they were not about to challenge him. Jake, of course, didn't know about this presence because he wasn't a murderer. He didn't understand like they did.  
  
Once they arrived at the iron room, they entered. Toby was sitting in the same chair as earlier with his arms crossed and his legs crossed. He was the very image of defiance. He glanced up at Mr. Koblin for a long time but his eyes were narrowed. He was NOT in a good mood and when he was that angry, he tended to overlook details.  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Williams." Mr. Koblin said with a strange glint in his eyes. Toby did look at him for a long while on the verge of a great discovery, but then his head turned towards the door that was being opened once again.  
  
There stood Michu, a shadow of her former self. Her eyes were red and tears fell freely down her face at the very sight of Toby. She took a shuddering breath as she leaned heavily against the guards who brought her in and they starred at her in shock. They remembered her pride and her absolute loathing to any sort of support. Now here she was crying and shuddering from days of not eating or sleeping.  
  
The guards had heard her weeping all through the prison. It was impossible for ANYONE to sleep when her screams echoed down the halls. The plants withered outside for no reason at all and when she was REALLY upset, thunderstorms would rage to match her scream for scream. No one could explain these incidents and, to tell the truth, not many people really wanted to ask her what was wrong.  
  
"Please sit down, Michu." The woman's head snapped up and she starred at Mr. Koblin with disbelief and shock in her eyes. Jake was actually surprised to see her going through so many sudden changes in the course of just a few weeks. Toby whirled around and his eyes narrowed even more when he noticed Mr. Koblin making himself comfortable in a chair.  
  
"Jareth." Michu whispered, her eyes coming together in fury. She stood there shaking for a long time before her lips curled back to reveal vicious teeth and a vein became noticeable at her throat. Her fists clenched at her sides and the grinding of her teeth could just be heard.  
  
"It's been a long time. We missed you at the wedding." Jareth said, his entire manner relaxed and his hands crossed lazily as he studied her. "You haven't been eating well."  
  
"Damn it Jareth!" Michu screamed, smashing her fist into the metal table and leaving a dent when she removed her hand. Jake's eyes widened to see such fury coming from someone so small. "Get the Hell out of here! I don't want to talk to you ever again!"  
  
"I won't be leaving until I get what I want from you." Jareth said calmly. Toby's eyes widened in recognition and he growled as he rose to his feet.  
  
"Jareth." He hissed. Michu didn't bother looking at the enraged blond boy but her eyes were so furious, Jake wondered how Jareth hadn't started shrinking away from her. "I know you." He whispered.  
  
"Yes Toby. It's good to see I've been remembered. And of course Michu has been feeding you lies ever since we left." Toby blinked.  
  
"What lies?" Michu shrieked and smashed her fist into the table again!  
  
"I SWEAR JARETH!! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!! LEAVE ME IN PEACE!!" She began to scream curses left and right, bursts of fierce wind smashing into the walls and causing things to lift and shatter against the walls. Jake leapt back in surprise when the iron table was torn from its hinges and Jareth was pulled from his seat by sheer force.  
  
"Michu, stop it!" Jareth said furiously. When his only answer was more cursing and fiercer winds, he turned on his heel and left the room angrily. Michu screamed and smashed open the door. The guards followed her tensely with their guns at the ready but she just walked right back into her cell and locked herself in. Once there, she began to pace her room like the caged animal that she was and occasionally screaming out curses in various languages that no one could decipher.  
  
Toby and Jake stood in the same room, their eyes scanning calmly the damage created from the last encounter. They really had no idea how the winds had started or why they had increased whenever Jareth had tried to speak to Michu. All they knew was that the case was getting more and more complicated.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You have ten minutes." The guard said nervously and waited by the door as Michu sat down at a small telephone booth. Her lavender hair was rather limp but definitely very beautiful as it framed her pale face. Across from her in the safety of knowing that even bullets couldn't penetrate the glass between them, was Tina. She wore a rather large white hate and dark sunglasses that didn't suit her at all.  
  
"So . . . you must be Michu Phixie." Tina said conversationally as she spoke through the phone on her end of the booth. She was still getting over the shock of the fierceness of Michu's cobalt blue eyes.  
  
"What do you want and who are you?" Michu said flatly, her eyes still locked onto Tina's. Tina hadn't experienced true fear very often, but something akin to panic was bubbling inside of her and she had the sudden urge to get up and run for her life. Something told her that this woman wasn't in a good mood and that it was very dangerous to speak to her if she wasn't in a good mood.  
  
"My name is Tina." Tina began, trying to keep a normal tone of voice. "I'm here on behalf of your lawyers." Michu's left eyebrow went up in disbelief.  
  
"You are lying." She said flatly. "If you are here to lie than choose someone else to waste their time. I'd prefer not to be speaking to someone I don't even know." Tina's mouth dropped open. She wasn't often spoken to like this. How DARE she!  
  
"Is that what you said to Toby?" She hissed. She saw the shock and sadness that enveloped the other woman's features instantly at those words. Very quickly, her eyes narrowed and her hand tightened around the phone curled in her delicate fingers.  
  
"Who are you?" She hissed acidly.  
  
"I'm a friend of Toby's." Tina said with a touch of arrogance in her voice. "And you've made him a wreck for the past two months! What the Hell did you do to him? How could you kill his sister?" Michu starred at Tina but her voice was soft.  
  
"And why would you say that?" Michu asked softly.  
  
"I read the file on you! It was horrible what you did to her!" Tina said as her face turning a slight red as her fingers gripped the phone so hard her knuckles turned white! Michu continued to glare at Tina and then she smiled. She actually smiled!  
  
"I'm glad to see that Toby has such good friends now. The last time we were together, he didn't have any friends but me and . . . those two." She continued to smile but there was something sorrowful in her gaze.  
  
"You don't fool me!" Tina shouted angrily. "I know you're trying to trick me into trusting you! Well it won't work! Toby hates you! He hates you! He hat-,"  
  
SMASH!!  
  
Tina leapt back and fell off of her chair. The phone snapped off from its place and the guards yelped in shock. Michu's fist had connected with the bullet proof glass and had gone straight through it. Michu's eyes burned as she glared at Tina as she withdrew her hand from the glass. She shook the glass shards out of her blooding knuckles but she didn't wince at the pain.  
  
"Do not interferer in matters that have nothing to do with you. You are trespassing on tender ground and poking around in history that has nothing to do with you. Keep your nose to yourself and stay away." Michu stood violently and strode out of the room. Tina felt her breath return and she got up quickly.  
  
She knew now that Michu was more powerful than she looked if she could punch through bullet proof glass. But how had she done it? If she was so strong, why hadn't she fought her way out (Tina knew that Michu could have if she had really wanted to)?  
  
"I have to find out what's going on." Tina muttered as she rushed out of the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to JLF, Jenny, draegon_fire, Megan, and General Sephiroth. You guys are totally awesome! Sorry this took so long. I promise I won't be so bad now that I'm actually ORGANIZED! *holds up Lord of the Rings planner* I'm special you see! ^.^ I hope you guys liked this chapter. The fun stuff is coming, I swear! 


	5. A Crisis Begging to Be Beat

Chapter: A Crisis Begging to Be Beat  
  
Michu again found herself sitting in the iron prison used for interrogating other people. As she sat waiting for Toby, she lifted her chin defiantly and glared straight ahead. She was still furious that Tina had told her that Toby hated her; it was bad enough that she was all alone. She didn't need the only person she had always loved unwaveringly to suddenly hate her.  
  
Thoughts of the past involuntarily filled her mind and she remembered times of old. She remembered going to the park with Toby and Almanac. She remembered coming home to find Sarah cooking dinner and the three boys wrestling playfully. Toby would always win these fights and the two men would laugh heartily at the boy standing over them triumphantly.  
  
She remembered going to a movie with only Sarah for company and having the time of her life even if the movie was boring. She remembered long talks with Jareth and relaxing nights writing with Almanac reading what she finished and critiquing it. Those had been the golden days when Michu was happy.  
  
"Are you awake?" Michu was shocked out of her thoughts when she saw Tina waving her hand in front of her face. Grabbing her wrist in a death lock, Tina gasped and punched automatically. Michu cupped the other hand in hers and pushed the knuckles back so that Tina gasped in pain. The guards rushed forward to stop her but the wind picked up and they were thrown against the floor!  
  
"What do you think you're doing here?" Michu hissed acidly. "Toby would kill you if he knew that you were here." Tina bit down on her lower lip so as not to yelp at the pain the lavender haired woman was applying to her hand without any visible effort.  
  
"That's a chance I'm going to take." She hissed. Michu glared at her for a long time and then released her. Tina stepped back in shock and rubbed her wrists where they had been protesting at the abuse.  
  
"What is going on here?" The icy fury in that voice made Tina whirl around to face a livid Toby. His blue eyes weren't on Michu but on Tina and fiercely boring into her. Tina could just see a shocked Jake and a slightly amused Jareth walking into the room. Michu stiffened and rose to her feet threateningly.  
  
"I TOLD you that I don't want to speak to you!" Michu hissed and clenched her fists. The wind began to pick up again and thrash against all of them.  
  
All except for Toby that is.  
  
"This isn't just a social call, Michu." Jareth said calmly. "If I hadn't been desperate to find you, I wouldn't be here but Sarah would want you to know." Michu paled sat down hard. She glared at the floor and made no move to speak as the wind died down. Tina and Jake shared a glance but they turned around to see what was happening. Toby just starred between them with poorly masked curiosity.  
  
"How is she?" Michu asked quietly. Tina felt the urge to ask who 'she' was but her mouth wouldn't work properly so she didn't bother to try again.  
  
"She's in danger along with your godsons." Jareth said calmly. Michu's eyes widened and she looked at Jareth with much more interest and caution than before.  
  
"What happened to them?" She whispered.  
  
"They were kidnapped by the Shadow Queen Morgana and no one can get to them. She plans to take over your kingdom and without you there to protect it, all will fall to ruin. Your people are still blindly loyal to you." Michu was silent but the pink twinge on her cheeks spoke volumes about her obvious shame.  
  
"What else?" Michu whispered hoarsely.  
  
"I've already said that your kingdom is deteriorating and my wife and children are in grave danger. One of your own generals, a pixie by the name of Ritsu M'ani, has been kidnapped along with them." Jareth said with a hint of annoyance and urgency in his voice. "Do you want me to tell you what's happening to Almanac's kingdom as well?" Michu stiffened and went deathly pale.  
  
"What's happening?" Michu demanded after a moment of trying to compose herself. The tremor in her voice did nothing to conceal the anguish she felt.  
  
"His Labyrinth has gone wild and randomly changes without him saying a word. He doesn't eat well, he rarely sleeps, and he doesn't do anything but stare out the window! He becomes worse every time someone even mentions your kingdom!" Tina didn't know what the Hell they were talking about, but the look on Michu's face at these words told her that it was very important.  
  
"Oh God," she whispered in horror.  
  
"It's true! If you stay here, they'll all die! Almanac will too if you don't come back to the Underground with me right now! Don't you understand?! This is a last resort! I wouldn't be here if anyone else could help me get my wife and children back!" Michu felt tears falling down her cheeks and a terrible urgency to save her best friend. She needed to help!  
  
"No more being selfish." Michu whispered faintly as her face hardened and she stood. "I'm going!"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Mummy, I'm scared!" Sarah turned towards her youngest son and tried to smile reassuringly at him. She was still dressed in the ice blue gown she'd been wearing that day that she and her children had been kidnapped from their home. Her beautiful brown-black hair was falling out of the crown that it had been formed into and stray pieces of hair were sticking to the back of her neck. She ignored the large welt on her cheek where she had been stuck and she didn't bother to try to rub off the coppery blood that was flecking her hands.  
  
Down by her waist were two young boys with their arms around her. Sarah smiled faintly and she pulled them closer to her. The oldest (Seth) looked like a nine-year-old with piercing blue eyes identical to his father's. His hair was dark brown with streaks of silver-white. He still wore the gray pants and gray shirt he'd been fencing in when he had been plucked from his future kingdom.  
  
The second and youngest boy (Cain) was trembling slightly. His skin was very tan and his large green eyes were flecked with yellow and surprisingly blue. One eye was slightly darker than the other and his blond hair was cropped right at his ears. He wore the identical fencing uniform as his older brother.  
  
"Don't worry, my dears. Your father will be here soon to take us back home." This seemed to comfort the boys, who immediately brightened and began to imagine their powerful and wonderful father beating the men who had kidnapped them with the simple twirl of a crystal. Sarah, however, knew that they were in grave danger.  
  
The fact that she and her sons had been kidnapped so easily from their home was evidence enough that whoever they were dealing with were powerful. The goblins hadn't been around at the time and if they had, Sarah was sure that the guards wouldn't have been able to leave the Goblin Kingdom with their lives. But they hadn't been there and they had escaped with their lives and the lives of three others.  
  
"We'll be getting out of here soon," a meek voice whispered. Sarah and her sons turned to the voice and discovered a woman chained to the wall with huge black shackles at her wrists and ankles.  
  
She was a bit tall for a pixie at five foot ten inches with long green hair, which reached her knees and beautiful pink eyes (red and bleeding around the edges where she had obviously been beaten). Her ears were a little less pointed than most pixies (and Sarah definitely knew what a pixie looked like). After starring at the bloody woman for a long while, Sarah lifted an eyebrow in the same manner as her husband (a habit she had picked up).  
  
"Ritsu M'ani, we meet again." Sarah said formally. Her sons glanced at their mother and then back at the pixie advisor who chuckled.  
  
"Forgive me if I don't bow, Queen Sarah. I'm a bit restrained at the moment." Sarah smiled weakly.  
  
"It's very good to see you again." Sarah said as she hugged her youngest son closer. "We haven't seen each other since . . . well, since their godmother was still here." Ritsu stiffened slightly.  
  
"So the rumors are true. The Queen has gone Aboveground." Ritsu said with a note of defeat evident in her voice and her drooping chains.  
  
"She was very angry and upset." Sarah whispered. "It was my fault and Jareth's. If he and I had known what was going on, she would be with us now and we wouldn't be in this situation. She'd never have allowed this to happen." Cain and Seth were exchanging glances.  
  
"Who are you talking about mummy?" Cain asked eagerly as he pulled on her skirt for attention. Seth gave him a disapproving stare that he copied from his mother whenever they did something wrong.  
  
"I was talking about your godmother Michu. You've never met her; I haven't seen her for years." Sarah said sorrowfully. Both boys looked at each other carefully, both wondering whose fault it was that their precious mother was on the verge of tears.  
  
"Was she nice?" Cain asked curiously.  
  
"Aye little prince." Ritsu said from her wall. "Kind, gentle, and a wonderful Queen. If only she was still with us now." Sarah sighed and wondered what Michu was doing at that very moment.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to mari. I'm so glad that you like the sequel and 'Twists and Turns'! ^.^ That's what makes me happy; someone likes the first one so much that they actually want to read the sequel. I'm looking forward to more reviews from you! The fun stuff is just around the corner, I swear! 


	6. On A Journey to A Magical World

Chapter: On A Journey to a Magical World  
  
Toby sucked in a sharp breath at Michu's words of leaving. He stepped forward and grabbed her arm in a steely grip, his furious eyes boring into her savagely.  
  
"You aren't going anywhere!" Toby snarled. Michu starred at his hand and then up into his face sadly. Toby saw so much pain and anguish in her eyes, he dropped her hand and took a step away from her. Sighing, Michu glanced at the other two lawyers and then back at Toby.  
  
"I'm so sorry that all of this had to happen. Sarah and I wanted to make you happy."  
  
"Don't you DARE talk about Sarah!" Toby screamed! Michu starred at him with her brows creased together and a pained expression on her face. "Don't you dare!" He hissed again.  
  
Tina was glaring at Michu with hatred and fury. How DARE she do this to Toby! Didn't she have ANY shame? She had killed her best friend and left him to rot! Couldn't she just leave Toby in peace?  
  
"I'm sorry." Michu whispered as she started to back up. "I really am. But you don't understand what sort of history you are playing with and I refuse to be the one to drag you into this mess!" Her face had gone from sad to furious in seconds. She turned a skeptical eyebrow at Jareth and tossed her hair over her shoulder. Hair that had red highlights.  
  
Jake blinked and peered at her through narrowed eyes. He gasped and backed away at what he now saw and Tina couldn't help yelping when she noticed the change as well. Toby just starred at her.  
  
Her eyes were still the same cobalt but her hair was streaked with red highlights between her lavender locks. Her ears were longer and grew to a point, sticking out of her hair in the process. Her blue jumper suit was gone and in its place was a red gown with a golden rope-belt and red sandals. She looked the very image of royalty.  
  
"How did you . . . ?" Toby demanded, his eyes wide and his mouth opening and closing mutely. Jareth smiled faintly.  
  
"You've already forgotten of the magic we used to do for you? You always loved it." Toby turned to stare at Jareth with blank astonishment.  
  
"But that wasn't real." Toby said patiently. He was speaking as if from a dictionary. "The magic that I saw you do wasn't real; it was all inside of my head. I wanted to make you more interesting and dramatic as a child so you having magic were a result of childhood dreams." Jareth laughed.  
  
"Do you really believe that? It was Sarah who created this little group in the first place. Three monarchs living under the same roof with a toddler and a dreamer was quite an interesting experience." Tina blinked.  
  
"Did you say monarch?" Jareth shrugged dismissively.  
  
"That isn't important now. Shall we be going to my Labyrinth now, Michu?" The lavender haired pixie turned to glare at Jareth and looked away.  
  
"No." Jareth chocked and whirled around on her.  
  
"What the Hell do you mean, 'no'?! I have to save my family!" Michu glared at him.  
  
"I AM going to save them. But first I need to tend to my kingdom. I've been away for a long time and I've neglected them my entire life. No more. I won't be a terrible ruler anymore!" Crouching down slightly, Michu clapped her hands together twice and was gone in a flash of light and feathers. Toby, Jake, and Tina's mouths fell open in sync! Jareth mumbled some very unpleasant things in Goblin and lifted up a crystal. A distant memory of this awakened Toby, who grabbed a hold of Jareth's cape just as he was disappearing (in the process awakening Jake and Tina, who grabbed on to Toby).  
  
A very angry Jareth cursed loudly in his own kingdom when he discovered the mortal hitchhikers still clinging to his cape in astonishment. The guards that entered the iron room in the prison were shocked to discover it empty and the only things left being overturned metal chairs, a dented table, feathers, and glitter.  
  
  
  
  
  
When Michu appeared in her kingdom, her mouth opened in horror and shock at what she discovered. The sun was no where to be found but a dark red light came somewhere from the north. Her lands were scorched with fire and a barren waste land stood where lushes forests and gently rolling hills had once been the homes of her people.  
  
There were campfires dotting the land and even from her vantage point Michu could hear the clank of metal grinding against metal as soldiers hurried around the ground nervously. Swords twinkled gravely and soldiers were speaking in hushed tones as they glanced from place to place nervously.  
  
Turning to her left, Michu was relieved and also saddened to discover that her castle remained standing if not as magnificently as it had the last time she had seen it. Two of the towers had been crumpled and the roof in some parts had been scorched. Still, four walls remained and the castle still looked sturdy.  
  
Feeling detached and somehow sorrowful, Michu trudged down the hill she stood on and made her way into the castle. Several guards leapt to their feet when they saw her coming. Stopping when they pointed their swords bravely at her, she felt more sadness way on her already heavy heart.  
  
"Who are you?! What business have you here?" One of them, a boy of eighteen, demanded in a voice full of authority. Michu smiled faintly and tilted her head.  
  
"My name is Queen Velderia Michu Phixie. This is my castle." Michu said. All of the soldiers stiffened and positioned their swords at the ready.  
  
"Sure you are." The eighteen-year-old said sarcastically. "And I'm King Jareth!" Michu giggled and smiled sadly.  
  
"I'm afraid you can't be; I just left him behind in the mortal realm. I've only just been told of what's been going on in my kingdom. Now STAND DOWN." All of the pixies were astonished when they dropped their swords without their own permission and stood aside for Michu to pass them. Touching the golden door, Michu walked in calmly when it opened for her. More guards rushed forward but they stood back in shock when the guards from outside followed her in.  
  
"The defenses on the west side of what was the Forest of Sparrows are lax. Tell the soldiers there that formation two and four should be right up under the Ice Pass leading to the Frozen Desert." Michu said. Several soldiers were slow to follow orders from this woman but some took them without question. The eighteen-year-old followed her into the old War Room but kept his hand on his sword suspiciously.  
  
"Who is this woman?" A pixie demanded snobbishly when Michu walked into the War Room. She was a beautiful woman with long pink hair that was braided all the way down to her knees. She wore a long pink dress with pink armor over it (which made the dress look quite silly). All the pixies there were noble and there were even some monarchs from other kingdoms. All of them turned to the new arrival curiously.  
  
"I believe that the correct question is who are YOU?" The pixie seemed taken aback but then she stood to her full height (she was two inches taller than Michu) and glared down her nose at her.  
  
"I am Countess Dona Gemini of the House of Twins. I am also the third general of the Green Division and I am one of the Queen's most loyal nobles." Michu arched an eyebrow and drew herself up to her full height as well.  
  
"I am Queen Velderia of the Pixie Kingdom. I live in this castle and you are MY subject. Learn your place and do not defy me with your puny rank!" Dona gaped at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.  
  
"The Queen is dead." She said, lifting her chin and motioning towards the guards. "Word came from Aboveground that she was dead." Michu glared at her and lifted her hand. Pulling the sleeve of her dress back, she revealed a tattoo embedded in her flesh of shifting colors and patterns, constantly a crown but never staying in the same form for very long.  
  
Someone pushed through the crowd assembling around her and brushed aside even monarchs as if they were nothing. He was a very old man with a face filled with wrinkles and wizened brown eyes. His long hair and mustache were a pearly white. He wore an equally white gown as all Advisors of the royals did and he wore a pair of golden spectacles over his large nose.  
  
"Let me see!" He said hurriedly. He took Michu's arm into his and examined the mark. Starring at it for a long time, he mumbled several words and pointed at seemingly random spots on her tattoo. When he was satisfied, a look of pure awe was drawn over his face. Michu smiled faintly.  
  
"Your Majesty? You have returned to us?" Michu smiled.  
  
"I took long enough, didn't I? Why is the sky red?" The Advisor's relieved smile vanished but hope was still glowing brightly in his eyes.  
  
"Your people are starving." Michu's eyes widened and she snapped her arm away from his grasp as if he had burnt her!  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I'm afraid it's true, milady. We couldn't stop the Shadow Queen from cutting off food supplies here but we managed to save the castle and we've been trying to plan battle strategies. Without you, however, and your vast experience in the Great War, well, it's been more than difficult."  
  
Michu stood speechless for a long time before her eyes narrowed and she stormed out of the War Room. All of the people raced frantically after her.  
  
"Your Majesty!" The old man called fearfully. Michu ignored him and hurried out of her castle and to the front gates of her castle. With a deep breath, she threw her arms into the air and began to chant as quickly as she could, envisioning bread, fruit, water, anything that she could think of into the cold and dark homes of her subjects. She felt their surprise and their relief.  
  
The last thing that Michu remembered was smiling in triumph when cries of relief and thanks rose up all around the kingdom and shocked the soldiers standing guard around the houses.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! More is on the way but midterms are my first priority. 


	7. Monarchs and Warriors Coming Together to...

Chapter: Monarchs and Warriors Coming Together to Hurl  
  
When Jareth reappeared in his kingdom, he sighed heavily. Rubbing his forehead and thinking for a moment, he turned towards one of the goblins that came towards him. Goblins were terrifying, thin, and tall creatures with hideous smiles and a way of killing the atmosphere. The goblin bowed when he saw Jareth.  
  
"I want my presence known at the Pixie Kingdom. Send word to Almanac that Michu has returned to the Underground and I'll meet him there since his kingdom is right beside hers." The goblin looked past Jareth curiously, shrugged, bowed, and left the room to deliver the message.  
  
"Snappers, I want you to go to the Dragon Kingdom and inform the monarch that I wish to speak to him in the Pixie Kingdom. We'll need reinforcements if we want to enter the Shadow Realm and get back those that have been kidnapped." One of Jareth's favorite goblins came forward, mimicked the other goblin's movements, and left the chamber to do as he had been told.  
  
Sighing, Jareth moved towards his throne and made a strangled sound when he stopped moving. Something was clinging to his cloak! Jareth grumbled under his breath as he slowly turned around. He just hoped that it wasn't another child who had been wished away. This mess had been a result of that!  
  
What he saw made his mouth fall open in shock. Toby had both of his hands practically sewn into the fabric of his cloak and his eyes were darting all around in shock. Tina and Jake were holding onto his shoulders and starring in much the same way.  
  
No one dared move and even the wind outside stopped to listen. Meimi, another goblin, came in and blinked when he saw the four figures standing there like statues.  
  
"Your Majesty?" Jareth's head snapped at Meimi and then back at Toby, his eyes now narrowed to slits. Grabbing his cape and dragging it around him and out of Toby's fingers, Jareth took a threatening step towards the gawking mortals. They had enough sense to back away from him hurriedly.  
  
"What do you think you are doing here?!" Jareth demanded furiously.  
  
"Ohmigodohmigodohmigodogmigod." Tina repeated over and over again, her knuckles tightening around Toby's shoulders in a vain attempt to keep her anchored to reality. This was clearly impossible since nothing in Jareth's kingdom was neither reality nor as it seemed.  
  
"It WAS real!" Toby whispered.  
  
"Toby Williams." Meimi said knowingly. Toby whirled out of his stupor and starred at the goblin in shock. "The last time I saw you, you were a bit younger." Toby blinked.  
  
"I was here?" Meimi laughed.  
  
"Of course you were! Twice I believe; even though the first time you were too scared to be around us real goblins." The three humans opened and closed their mouths like a fish out of water. Jareth rubbed his temples and groaned as he plopped down into his throne.  
  
"Sarah would KILL me if she were here!" He said. Tina glanced at Jareth and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. That wasn't the best thing to say around Toby but he was still starring at Meimi, too distracted to say anything.  
  
"Is there something you would like for me to bring you, Your Majesty?" Jareth shook his head and starred out the window to his Labyrinth for a moment before he turned back to Meimi.  
  
"Just make sure that the soldiers are ready. I want to leave for the Pixie Kingdom as soon as possible. These three will have to come along so they might as well have something to eat." At that moment, Jake's and Tina's stomachs rumbled. Both of them blushed. They had been planning to have lunch together but they hadn't been able to.  
  
"I'm fine with that. Er, as long as the food isn't poisoned." Meimi laughed and winked (which looked a bit frightening coming from a goblin).  
  
"Just mind the peaches."  
  
  
  
  
  
Michu was floating in absolute warmth and blissful darkness. She felt so calm and peaceful where she was and she didn't want to leave this brief paradise where her troubles were forbidden to bother her.  
  
Fate has a way of cutting short all good things, especially before a storm. Michu blinked several times and starred up into awed blue eyes. Blinking again, Michu realized two things. One, she was sleeping on a very comfortable bed. Two, someone was leaning over her.  
  
Studying the face, Michu felt her mouth grow dry and tears well up in her eyes. The face was so thin and hollow! Pale flesh was drawn tightly over high cheekbones and black brows were the only trace of color on the otherwise beautiful face. The eyes were like twin sapphires winking at her through the haze that possessed her mind at the moment. That was when Michu realized who the person was.  
  
"Hello Almanac." King Almanac, the monarch of Dreams, continued to stare down at her as if she was an angel bathed in golden light and granting him a miracle. Michu blushed slightly and turned her face away in shame.  
  
She hated what she was doing. She hated that she had fallen in love with the man above her while she should have loved Jareth. She had been so cruel to Almanac, but her mind told her that she loved someone else. When she had been lying awake in her cell, Jareth's crystal lying on the pillow right beside her head, she would ask herself why she was doing this to herself and why her heart beat quickened when she saw Almanac coming towards her. Her heart told her one thing but her mind told her another and she was too confused to do anything at all.  
  
"You're back." Michu stiffened at the hoarse voice. Looking back into Almanac's eyes, Michu felt that same rapid heartbeat against her ribcage and the warmth that flooded her stomach and her face. Almanac tilted his head slightly and in the process making his black hair tickle the side of her face. "Why?"  
  
"I . . . Sarah." Almanac nodded. "Why are you allowing your kingdom to fall?" Almanac shrugged, his face looming just over hers. He was neither getting closer nor pulling away. Michu felt uncomfortable but also strangely pleased.  
  
"What's the point of it all? I've ruled it for so long and my subjects are getting lazy. A little crisis might wake them up, don't you think?" Michu continued to turn red even though his words horrified her.  
  
"Almanac, please tell me."  
  
"So that you can leave again without even saying goodbye?" Michu cringed beneath his prying eyes. She felt trapped with his arms barricading her beneath him. "That's alright, I can keep a secret. I like watching my friends start crying and then leave without any sort of warning. Just poof, gone, and with all of their stuff missing as well. And then later reading in a mortal newspaper that Sarah Williams was violently murdered by her best friend when in reality I was the Best Man at their wedding the day of the supposed murder. That's exactly what I want."  
  
"I'm sorry! I was desperate to get away from them. I would have only made it all worse."  
  
"You DID make it worse." Almanac pointed out calmly. "How much worse could you have made it?" There was no anger, only curiosity. Michu wished that he would yell at her and slap her just to see him emotional. His detached attitude frightened her.  
  
"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!"  
  
"That's right; you weren't." Almanac starred at her for a long time and then sighed. He looked very old as he sat away from her and watched her sit up. "The other kings and queens of various kingdoms are here. They wish to speak with you on a way to fight off the Shadow Army that has been trying to take over the Underground." Michu nodded and got up.  
  
Both of them walked in a strained silence to the War Room where everyone was waiting. Michu blinked in surprise when she saw Toby, Jake, and Tina there but when she saw Jareth's pissed off expression; she knew that they must have gotten a free ride. Jareth valued his head and Sarah would have had it if he had purposefully brought them.  
  
"I'm delighted to see that you are well, Your Majesty." A tight voice said between clenched teeth. Michu allowed herself a malicious smirk at Lady Dona. The pixie woman didn't seem happy in the least to embarrass herself in front of the Queen of her race and kingdom.  
  
"Is my kingdom fed?" Dona grudgingly nodded. "Good. Now I want to know the whole story, please."  
  
The monarchs of the other kingdoms glanced at each other and took a nervous seat around the room (not caring if they sat in a place above or below their rank). Several people cleared their throats and no one seemed to want to begin. It was the eighteen-year-old soldier from the gate post who began bravely telling what they knew.  
  
"Queen Morgana of the Shadow Realm has issued a proclamation of war against all of the Underground armies. No one took her seriously until she took control of the Gremlin and the Gnome kingdoms. She even took over the Unicorn kingdom before anyone did anything about her. The unicorns that survived the attacks and the other creatures have come here or to other kingdoms for refuge."  
  
Michu was slightly annoyed that her proud race was so ashamed; they had to resort to a boy to tell her what was happening. She glared at all of them pointedly before turning her full attention back to her speaker.  
  
"What is it that she wants?" The boy was about to answer but then he paled and looked away.  
  
"She wants a marriage to Almanac." Jareth said quietly. The air in the room grew ten degrees colder and Michu's eyes traveled over to her friend. He seemed tired and old, his hand coming to brush his handsome face.  
  
"Then I acce-,"  
  
"No!" Everyone turned to Michu at her outburst. She was extremely red but no one was quite sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. She stood up and glared directly into his startled eyes. "This is MY kingdom and so long as I live, I will not allow it!" Whirling around, Michu made for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Dona demanded shrilly. Michu turned a piercing glare her way before motioning towards the boy soldier.  
  
"I am going to look over the armies. I am not considered one of the best generals of the Great War because I sat around discussing useless pasts that will not win a battle." Dona closed her mouth sharply and watched the two pixies leave the room. Tina glared after her.  
  
"Bitch." She muttered beneath her breath.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to someone who didn't leave a name, and draegon_fire, Megan, Silver Space, and mari (you're welcome!) for reviewing the previous chapter. Thanks to Megan and draegon_fire for reviewing the chapter after that. I have ONE more exam and then I'm DONE. ^.^ I don't have to study for math so I can write this chapter. Yay! More to come and someone SINSTER shows up in the next chapter! 


	8. The Pain of the Past

Chapter: The Pain of the Past  
  
With all of the pixies and other magical creatures hurrying around the castle, Toby discovered that the only quiet place was the garden. Well, it was more like multiple gardens, really, since it was one fourth the size of the castle itself. Toby loved to walk by a three story waterfall and sit down by a circle of frosty blue stones to gather his thoughts. Everything had happened so fast and he suddenly felt right at home in this kingdom.  
  
The gardens were filled with beautiful plants and trees. Some of them were bizarre but others were easy to identify. There was an entire section cut off for different kinds of roses and there was another section for pine trees. All of them were beautiful and there were a grand total of four waterfalls. There were several scattered small ones here and there but the large ones were ringed by frosty stones where the foam of the fallen water ended. These parts of the castle made the terrifying red of the sky seem pleasant.  
  
Toby still remembered the look on Michu's face when he and his two friends came with Jareth to her kingdom. Almanac had been shocked to discover that Toby had grown so much since the last time he had seen the little bundle of golden joy. And now Toby realized that all of the times that Michu, Almanac, and Jareth had spoken when they thought he wasn't listening (when they talked about Labyrinths and magic) were all true. They really were the kings and queen of worlds that he had no idea ever existed. His sister never once crossed his mind and he never wondered what she could have been doing with these beings.  
  
"Hey Toby," Toby looked up and discovered Tina and Jake walking towards him. Motioning towards the miniature boulders that he was sitting on, Toby waited for them to take a seat. Both humans had been thoroughly shocked to discover that the worlds they had thought were nothing but stories were in fact real. They were also rather surprised that Toby could have grown up with three monarchs of this world and never thought that they might have been telling the truth.  
  
"So, what was it like?" Jake asked tentatively. Toby and Tina glanced at him curiously.  
  
"What was what like?"  
  
"You know: growing up with them. Were they always this crazy about war?" Toby starred at the beautiful castle for a long time before he spoke.  
  
"It was the happiest time of my life." Toby confessed. "Michu and Almanac would always take me to the park and they would play with me for hours and never get tired. Jareth would always do magic for me and all of them would give me presents whenever they could make up an excuse for it and read me stories. Michu was very good at that."  
  
"Did you ever suspect that she would kill your sister?" Tina asked in a small voice. She was brave, but she wasn't entirely reckless and ignorant. She would hate to touch on this obviously tender subject but she couldn't hold in her curiosity forever.  
  
"Actually, I was shocked as a child when the police tried to tell me that Michu had killed Sarah. It was such a stupid idea; they were always laughing together and so happy. I only remember one time that they ever fought." Tina blinked.  
  
"What happened?" Toby was quiet for such a long time that Tina was worried he might not answer. Then he sucked in his breath and starred at the castle again.  
  
"It was Sarah's birthday and she was so happy. Michu and I prepared a cake for her and a surprise party with just the three of us. This was before Jareth or Almanac came and it was wonderful. When Michu asked for my help, I was so happy. I loved to help her." Jake shifted uncomfortably. The rocks were slightly jagged and cut into his back at an awkward angle.  
  
"When Sarah came home, we had the party and she was really happy. In the middle of dinner, the doorbell rang and Sarah went to get it. Her mother was there." Toby was so pale by then, Jake leaned forward just in case he fainted or something.  
  
"Why is that bad?" Jake asked carefully.  
  
"Sarah and her mother had a very bizarre relationship. She was constantly traveling because she was an actress and she never really loved Sarah. When she came that night, she was convinced that Sarah had outgrown college and she wanted to take her to Hollywood to make her a famous actress. She didn't hang around long enough to realize that she wanted to be a writer." Toby lifted a reed from the ground and began to twist it between his fingers.  
  
"But why was this the first time that they fought?" Toby shook his head.  
  
"That's what happened before the fight. After Linda left, Sarah went up to her old room and started to cry. When Michu asked me something, I told her about an old story that Sarah had told me. She became very upset about it and then the next thing I know, Michu is storming down the stairs and slams the door shut. It was winter and she went out without her coat into a storm! When she came back, she refused to talk to Sarah and ignored me. She went straight to her room and slammed the door closed."  
  
"What were they fighting about?" Tina asked in a small voice.  
  
"Ah, that IS a question, now isn't it?" All three of them leapt to their feet and turned towards the voice. A woman was limping towards them slowly, her left side being supported by a gnarled walking stick. The left side of her face was terribly scared from burning and her head was nearly bald save for a long patch of dark blue hair. One bright green eye peered at them through the mesh that was her melted flesh.  
  
"Who are you?!" Tina demanded. She crouched into a defensive position that would result in a lot of pain if the woman dared to come forward. Taking a wise step back, the woman lifted her right hand defensively.  
  
"Don't hurt me, please! I only mean to help you." She said, her good eye creasing in fright. Tina stood in that same defensive crouch for a moment longer before she slowly relaxed. Toby also returned to his normal standing position, even if his eyes were narrowed suspiciously.  
  
"Who are you?" Jake demanded angrily. The woman took a half step forward.  
  
"My name is Rhea. I once lived in this palace as a slave." She spat on the ground furiously. "I'm a mortal; just like all of you." Toby turned his head to the side, trying to figure out if she was lying. This was a very difficult feat since her ugly misshapen face was all skin and no way to tell if she was guilty.  
  
"I didn't know that there were slaves here." Tina said slowly. She glanced at the castle in a mixture of disgust and dislike. She had never trusted Michu and she prided herself on KNOWING in her bones that she was evil. She knew that no good person would kill Toby's sister (from what he said of her, she was an angel).  
  
""Oh yes! In my day, there were so many slaves here, we would be killed and raped for sport! Pixies are very cruel creatures that have no sense of right or wrong. Why, look at the current Queen!" Now the woman spat on the ground viciously with a hint of blood. "She sentenced her own mother to death and sent her eldest sister mad!"  
  
"She made her own sister go mad?" Tina demanded in shock. Toby and Jake were looking at each other. Toby was suspicious but Jake was starting to believe that old woman, if not trust her. Tina was falling under the woman's words and taking them in as if they were a life line. She had known it! Michu was not to be trusted!  
  
"Princess Thalia was meant to succeed the throne if her only brother hadn't been killed in the Great War. There were rumors that the Queen killed her own brother and sisters in the war as well. She's friends with the enemy after all."  
  
'That's right, that's RIGHT! Michu is friends with Jareth and Almanac and everyone told us how their kingdoms had been on opposite sides during that war! Why would she be friends with them if she hadn't been in league with them? And why wouldn't she have told us of her siblings? She never directly said that she had never killed anyone before!' Tina's thoughts were becoming more and more trusting towards the woman. She just had an aura that she was being honest.  
  
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. She's a dangerous woman and she means to kill all those that oppose her! Look what became of me. I was once the most beautiful woman in these lands. Look at what has become of me because of her!" Tina felt pity like she had never experienced before. Jake was starting to believe the woman but Toby's mind was dead set against her. There was no way she would have snuck into the castle gardens just to tell them that.  
  
"She killed a human recently." Toby's heart skipped a beat and he starred at her in shock. "I saw it with my own eyes. She brought the girl here and slaughtered her before bringing her back to the human realm. She wanted to taunt the girl's brother and show him that she hated him." Toby couldn't believe his ears.  
  
"She killed who? What was her name?" Toby whispered. The woman's face crinkled but Jake wasn't sure if she was smiling or grimacing because of the burn scars.  
  
"Her name was Sarah, I believe. Yes, that was her name. She was an innocent human from what I recall of the people that knew what was going on. She was said to have been the Queen's best friend and no one was entirely sure why she had killed the girl. I think, perhaps, she was jealous. She was in love with the Goblin King but the Goblin King fell in love with the girl. I'm sorry, have I upset you young man?" Toby was shaking and he couldn't seem to make himself stop.  
  
"Toby!" The woman gasped and sank into a bush. Her good eye wandered towards the steps leading into the garden and saw Michu shouting over it. "Toby! Jake! Tina! Are you out here?!" Tina kneeled by the old woman's hiding spot.  
  
"Will she harm you if she finds you in here?" She whispered to her even though there was no way that Michu could hear them from the distance that she was from their location and even less so because they were beside a waterfall. The old woman nodded reverently at Tina's question and grabbed her hand in her unscarred one.  
  
"She will put me to death! Quickly now, don't let her know that I'm here. Go on about your daily business as if you had never known that I was here. Go on!" Jake herded his friends toward Michu and when they turned to see where the woman was, she was gone.  
  
"Is something the matter?" Michu's soft voice asked from beside them. Whirling around as if they had been caught red handed, they made up a quick excuse and ran towards the castle. Michu walked towards the spot they had been on suspiciously and took a reeling step back when she realized where she was.  
  
"Mother's favorite tree," Michu whispered as she drew her hand over her mouth in disgust. "What could they have been doing here?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to draegon_fire, terrie *welcome back! I missed your reviews*, Megan, JLF, and mari for reviewing the previous chapter. I'll give out cookies to whoever can guess who that woman was. ^^ Merry Christmas! Since today is Christmas. I don't know what you guys celebrate so happy holidays! 


	9. With Danger Coming Fast

Chapter: With Danger Coming Fast  
  
Michu followed quietly after Toby and his two friends. They kept shooting her disgusted looks over their shoulders and they were quick to go to the other side of the War Room once they were inside. Michu sighed and tried not to let the hurt overwhelm her.  
  
She hadn't had the guts to tell Toby that she had never as much as slapped Sarah. In fact, the one who had been kidnapped WAS Sarah and there was no way that she could have been stolen and dead at the same time. Michu just couldn't bring herself to tell the little boy that she had loved so much that she had been weak and had been angry enough all of those years ago not to realize what she would be doing to him. She would rather he continue to hate her than realize that she had forgotten him in a moment of madness.  
  
Almanac had been shocked to see Toby behaving cruelly around Michu. The blond young man was perfectly polite to everyone else and even smiled with him but with Michu, he was always looking at her as if she was some kind of terrible monster. Almanac also saw the guilty looks that Michu cast to the floor or when she flinched when he said something to her.  
  
The other monarchs were just as shocked as he was but for an entirely different reason. The Pixie Amazon as she had been called during the previous Great War was legendary for her complete detachment from feelings and her steel-like will. Her ability to kill was exceptional and everyone knew of her. Her allies admired her and her enemies feared her. But one little human had reduced her to a flinching, cowering creature who suffered in silence. It was quite a shock to all of those who had witnessed her when she was behaving like an ice queen.  
  
Michu noticed suspiciously that the three mortals had begun to whisper about something in a corner but she didn't say a word about it. Instead, she sat at her usual seat and leafed through several maps of the adjoining kingdoms. Her old friend, the Queen of Dragons, was watching her with large violet eyes, her face framed with bright green scales.  
  
"We don't know where Morgana's army will strike next." Michu began. She pushed the maps out for everyone to see and pointed to four mountains. "We know that she has attacked these kingdoms and the mountains have been the last places that she strikes."  
  
"Should the sick and wounded be carried to the mountains?" A tall elf with straight black hair asked curiously. Michu shook her head.  
  
"She expects that of us." Michu said. Picking up one of her infamous daggers, she motioned towards the spots beneath each mountain. "She's making a pattern on purpose to confuse us. I should know; my father made up this form of warfare." Ayesha, the Queen Dragon, nodded her approval and moved her snout over to look at the territory.  
  
"Do you see there? The pattern is like a diamond. This is too organized to be unintentional. We have a better chance moving the civilians into the cellars and into the Labyrinth under the ground where the dwarves on our side can protect them."  
  
"That will be done." The Unicorn King, a wise stallion by the name of Greenwood, nodded his old head. "We can always-,"  
  
He wasn't permitted to continue since there was an explosion outside! Michu threw herself off the table and nearly fell out of the window as she starred down at the destruction taking place at the southern front. Getting an eyeful, Michu whirled around to face the other stunned monarchs.  
  
"Take the first brigade and attack from the village. The rest of you spread yourselves around to the other side of the group. We want to surround them and get them from inside. Understood? Now GO!" Everyone scattered at once and Michu ran past all of them: a streak of lavender in a stream of bright colors.  
  
Almanac followed after her while Jareth left with the group that would be attacking from behind the enemies. He was changed into black armor instantly, his cloak discarded and a glowing steel sword in one hand as he hurried out of the palace. Kings, Queens, and various soldiers followed after their leaders and Toby, Tina, and Jake were ushered into an enchanted room specifically designed by Jareth to behave in the same way as the ballroom during Sarah's first trek through the Labyrinth.  
  
Throwing open her private armory, Michu quickly pulled on form- fitting silver armor and threw off her cloths without a backward glance. Almanac blushed when he saw Michu's lithe form standing naked in front of her armory before she pulled on the rest of her armor.  
  
"Come on, this is for you." Michu said distractedly as she tossed him a sword. He picked it up slowly and looked it over, testing its weight and banging the flat side against his armored thigh. It was more than sturdy.  
  
"What is this?" Michu began to push through the other swords.  
  
"It's Nightwing, my brother's old sword. The only reason he was killed was because my mother insisted that it was cracked and gave him a mortal weapon for the final battle." Michu said distractedly.  
  
"Oh." Almanac said, sheathing the mighty sword. There were fantastic rumors about Nightwing and all of the Pixie Swords. Michu got a stool from a nearby desk since she was too short and pulled out a long bow, a quiver full of silver arrows, and two daggers from her new vantage point. She was about to run to the battle, but she dug an insistent hand back into her armory and pulled out another beautiful dagger and handed it over to Almanac, blushing.  
  
"Um, this was my first dagger and will protect you." She said, hiding her face but looking through her quiver of arrows to make sure that each one was in working order.  
  
"Why are you giving it to me?" Almanac asked in surprise as he took out the dagger. It was glowing with danger so close and winked up at him with its own light. He could feel the magic surging through it.  
  
"I'm giving it to you because I don't want to see you get hurt." Michu muttered, her face still buried in her arrows so as not to show how embarrassed she felt. "Its name is Thistle. It sucks in magic and uses it against its enemy and empowers its wielder. Now that I've given it to you, only you and I can ever use it." Almanac sheathed the little dagger and glanced at Michu. She still wasn't looking at him.  
  
"Thanks." He said. Michu finally glanced at him and gave him a weak smile. He took her by the chin and starred into her startled eyes. "When we get back, we need to have a very long conversation, understood?" She nodded, still shocked that he had grabbed her. She rubbed her chin when he released her (not because he had harmed her but because he had been so firm).  
  
The two of them rushed out onto the battle field with their soldiers waiting for them.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"This is stupid!" Toby hissed as he paced the room. Jake was rapping his knuckles against the glass wall that had surrounded them. He was still amazed that they hadn't been able to leave the room once escorted into one of the Queen's chambers and asked to eat a peach.  
  
"This is one of the King's crystals." A voice said. Tina kicked on instinct and gasped when someone grabbed her leg. A young man walked out of the shadows and released her. "That was incredibly rude." He said emotionlessly. "I never did anything to you."  
  
"Who are you?" Jake demanded, tensing. Toby continued to stare at the man without moving.  
  
"I don't have a name." The man said. "I am simply the spirit of this crystal. The Goblin King has several and I am simply one of the five." The man bowed.  
  
"What do you mean?" Toby asked quietly. The man straightened and smiled at Toby.  
  
"I remember you. Your sister was running through the Escher Room to catch you in the final minutes in the Labyrinth. My master threw me towards you." Toby was very stiff, his eyes wide with shock.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Tina whispered. "Why would Toby be in Jareth's Labyrinth? And why would his sister have been there too?"  
  
"Exactly what are you?" Jake demanded. The man bowed again and sat in midair. This was rather frightening but Toby didn't seem to care as he came forward to give the man his full attention.  
  
"I am a crystal. I'm sure you've seen my master twirling us around. He uses us as his power house; a means to use power that has been processed instead of the raw magic that is sometimes too powerful for certain tasks when that task is meant to be done quickly. He could use magic without us but it's much simpler for him to just use us." The man turned towards Jake questioningly. "Did I answer your question to your satisfaction?"  
  
"Alright." Tina said. "Then why are we here?"  
  
"You are here because my King and the Pixie Queen have decided that it is far too dangerous to leave you in the war zone that they have presently embarked on. If you were to remain, you could be kidnapped or killed. This is for your own protection." Tina nodded reluctantly. She hated being babysat.  
  
"What were you talking about my sister being here?" Toby asked quietly. "Why would she be here with me? Jareth said that only those older siblings who have wished their brothers or sisters away ever come here." The man nodded with a strange smile on his face.  
  
"That's your answer. Your sister wished you away all of those years ago."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to draegon_fire and terrie for reviewing the previous chapter (it seems that almost of my reviewers have gone on vacation). Toby is DEFINITELY not going to be happy about THAT one! Hehe, so, did any of you guys guess who the woman from before is? Come on! I'll give you a cookie! I don't know what you guys celebrate so happy holidays! 


	10. A War is Drawn to Full Scale

Chapter: A War is Drawn to Full Scale  
  
Toby glared around the room furiously. He had been fairly shocked the other day when he had been told that he had been wished away years ago by his sister. The thought had never even been a possibility in his mind before but, then again, Michu killing his sister had been nearly impossible to accept as well. But there was something akin to betrayal in his heart just knowing that Sarah had been desperate enough one day to call upon Jareth and to wish him away.  
  
He had always wondered how Sarah knew Jareth. When he was young, he envisioned that Jareth was Sarah's knight in shining armor; she just didn't know it yet. As he grew steadily older, his young mind questioned how they had come to know each other and why he seemed to like the man so readily. Liking Jareth had been like liking Michu and Almanac; he just did. Still, Toby always wondered and at the moment, he really didn't like finding out the answers to his questions in the manner in which they had been dealt to him.  
  
Now he understood the trivial fights that his sister and Jareth had always had at odd times. One would say something that obviously meant a lot to the other and then they would start bickering like a married couple! Toby knew and Almanac knew what was going on. The two of them watched in amusement and often whispered conspiringly about them because that was their little secret. That was the closeness that Toby had with Almanac; he could keep a secret with him that he wouldn't and couldn't say to his sister.  
  
When the four of them vanished from his life at the same time, he had suffered enormous depression. He had nearly starved himself to death and he attempted suicide on more than one occasion. When he became a detective, he not only did it to follow his only friend (Jake) to the same school but also to find out some kind of evidence that would prove to everyone that Michu was in fact innocent and that they had made a terrible mistake. As he looked over the evidence, he realized that the finger of blame was pointed squarely at her and that she HAD been the one. He again suffered depression so intense that he nearly went mad.  
  
The only thing that kept him alive this time was the single quivering hope that was shoved to the back of his mind. When he had been seven years old, Michu took him into her lap while watching a movie. Sarah was too caught up in it to pay attention to them but Toby had smiled up at her with that same innocent smile that she had first fallen in love with.  
  
"Toby, you're getting so big!" She had said with a soft laugh against his sun-streaked hair. "So big, that I will make you a promise as well as a gift." Toby turned to her and starred into her eyes.  
  
"What is it?" Toby asked with awe etched into his voice. Someone on the television laughed and Sarah giggled to herself as she took a handful of popcorn and continued watching, her eyes glued to the screen.  
  
"I promise that I will never lie to you." She smiled. "That was the promise. My gift is something very special. Every question that you will ask, I will answer. So whatever I say, know that it is the truth and has everything to do with whatever you ask me." He had smiled, nodded, and turned back to the television. He hadn't understood at the time, but now he knew that he was going to find out.  
  
Eventually he would corner her and force her to answer all of his questions. If she had any sort of decency left, she would remember her promise to tell him the entire truth. For now, though, he would wait in the shadows with Tina and Jake and wait. Perhaps he would speak to that slave from the gardens? She might know a way to get at Michu and find out where she would hurt the most. She would feel all of the pain that he had suffered (he vowed) and she would hurt for as long as she lived, no matter if it was for fifty years or fifty centuries. For now, though, he consented to brood in the shadows and glare at her to show how much he loathed his once-favorite person in the world.  
  
Unaware of Toby's plans, Michu had introduced the other monarchs of the Underground to a wonderful invention that was now the real fuel in their systems.  
  
Coffee.  
  
They drank very strong black coffee as they poured over various maps, occasionally making a suggestion but mostly circling places and strategies to get behind enemy lines.  
  
Michu sighed heavily and rubbed her blood-shot eyes before gazing back at the map in front of her. She had fought for three months so far and the enemy was much stronger than she had originally guessed. She was now paying for her mistakes with soldiers as well as territory. She was slowly rectifying those mistakes but she still had a long way to go. She was still dressed in her armor save for her daggers, which were lying in arm's reach.  
  
Almanac was munching on a sandwich distractedly as he looked over his maps and circled various places as his eyes skimmed over the maps. He, unlike Michu, had taken a long nap before coming to this meeting and was fairly refreshed compared to the fatigued man he had been several days earlier when he had returned from the previous night's battle. The medical elves had already dealt with his minimal wounds and forced him into bed to recover his strength. Michu, however, sneaked away and often did more work than was healthy in her condition.  
  
Rubbing her eyes again, she glanced at Jareth. His eyes were also blood- shot. He didn't sleep very much these days because of the absence of his wife and children. Michu had been very shocked and outraged when she had been told of her loyal advisor: Ritsu's, capture and had been infuriated to discover that Queen Morgana was after more than just Almanac. She planned to take over the entire Underground and would fight viciously to achieve her goal.  
  
Jareth glanced up to discover Michu's eyes on him and he starred as she guiltily looked away. He noticed her eyes drooping and the dark circles beneath her cobalt eyes and her limp lavender locks of hair hanging on either side of her face. She was a sorry sight for a Fae, especially because he had seen her in all of her glory and beauty before war had taken its toll on her.  
  
"You know, you look like a little gnome that I used to know." Jareth said, breaking the silence. Everyone looked up and Michu turned to him in surprise.  
  
"Really?" Michu said with a faint ghost of a smile. "Why is that?"  
  
"He was constantly overworking himself. When I jokingly threatened to throw him into the Bog of Stench that does not even exist, he thought that if he worked harder, then I would change my mind. He ended up making the castle so clean that I slipped on the floor several times and sent him away so that he wouldn't get any MORE brilliant ideas."  
  
Michu began to laugh. It had been a long time since she had laughed and the monarchs smiled warmly to hear her joyous laughter again. She had a very nice voice. She wasn't a singer, but when she laughed she made those around her laugh. She smiled, brushing at the tears streaming down her face with mirth.  
  
"I'm sure that's incredibly amusing to SOME people." A cold voice hissed. Michu's smile evaporated and that same haunted look returned to her entire body. "Why be happy at all though? We're all going to die anyway because of YOU." Michu looked away from Toby and flinched at his words. Without speaking, she got up and left the room. Everyone either scowled at Toby or shifted uncomfortably in the tense atmosphere.  
  
"That was uncalled for, little kit." Ayesha, the Dragon Queen, said in a stern voice. Toby continued to sulk and glare after her until he heard something crash to the floor. He whirled around to find Jareth and Almanac glaring loathingly at him. Almanac had grabbed a crystal goblet and smashed it against the wall.  
  
"I was trying to cheer her up!" Jareth hissed. His eyes were narrowed to slits and even the brown of his eyes was icy; just like his blue eye. Toby felt himself trying to squirm away from that glare. How could Sarah do it? He wondered fleetingly if his sister had been stronger than he had given her credit for; even when she had been her younger brother's object of worship he had never imagined that trying to glare Jareth down could be this difficult.  
  
"What happened to the Toby that we knew?" Almanac whispered icily. Guilt overwhelmed him but Toby refused to back down. The look of betrayal on her face had hurt but there was strange satisfaction in seeing Michu suffer in the same way that she had made his sister suffer. Tina stood up quickly.  
  
"He has a right to do whatever the Hell he wants!" Jareth took two gigantic strides and lifted Tina into the air by means of her neck. Her eyes grew huge and she kicked uselessly at an invisible barrier. Jake leapt forward to stop him but Almanac stood in front of the other human threateningly. Toby starred in astonishment at a Jareth and Almanac that he had never before seen. They had never been violent in front of him.  
  
"Pathetic human! Do NOT interfere in history too tender for your feet! You have NO idea what happened to Sarah!" Jareth spat. Tina continued to grope at her neck, the whites of her eyes seemingly larger than her usual eye color. Toby starred in a sort of detached awe.  
  
This had been the first time that the subject of Sarah had been brought up. Jareth threw Tina on the floor and glared at her as if she was no longer worthy of his time. Both men whirled around and left the War Room leaving behind dazed monarchs and three mortals ignorant of what they were doing in this world.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to draegon_fire, JLF and terrie for reviewing the previous chapter (it seems that almost of my reviewers have gone on vacation). I'm in trouble now. Let me just say that one of my reviewers was clever enough to guess who the mysterious woman was but I won't tell who it is. ^^ Here's a cookie for you! When the character is revealed, you'll know who you are! 


	11. Leaving Both Sides Turning Pale

Chapter: Leaving Both Sides Turning Pale  
  
Having never been so stressed in her life, it was understandable that Michu could be found pacing her room instead of attempting sleep as she should have been. No one could blame her, what with all of the recent developments in the war. She had lost a lot of soldiers and many were scared stiff. It was only because she had regained so much territory that her troops hadn't deserted her altogether.  
  
Sighing when she realized that she would never get herself to fall asleep, Michu finally left her chambers and quietly entered the War Room. She allowed an involuntary sigh of relief to escape through her lips when she discovered that the three young mortals weren't waiting to create another terrible fissure in her already splintered heart. Only Ayesha the Dragon Queen and Almanac sat in the room drinking coffee and looking over maps. Ayesha's coffee cup was actually a large cauldron that was heated by a firestone held within it so that it would be hot enough for the desired effect of coffee in the Dragon Queen.  
  
Michu entered quietly and the Dragon Queen looked up in surprise when Michu sat down beside her. Smiling a dragon smile and exposing large ivory teeth, Ayesha pushed a cup of coffee towards the Pixie Monarch using the tip of her long tail.  
  
"You should be resting." Almanac said without looking up. Michu flinched and bowed her head in shame. She hated being treated like a child, especially by a person that she considered a friend. Well, she considered Almanac a . . . no, she couldn't think like that! It was . . . so unfair to him after all she had put him through. He deserved to never have to know about how she really felt.  
  
"I couldn't sleep." Michu mumbled as she took a sip of the coffee and immediately welcomed the effect of caffeine in her exhausted system. It wasn't the endless fighting or even the hours spent pouring over strategies and maps that exhausted her but rather the tedious encounters with the three mortals that was wearing her down. She really needed a distraction.  
  
"Why does that not surprise me?" Almanac said, raising his eyes with a faint smile on his face. Michu relaxed slightly knowing that she was no longer in trouble and risked a small smile. She sipped some more coffee and started tugging at the corner of a map before Almanac forced it away from her without looking up. Michu muttered something unpleasant under her breath and he started laughing. Soon they were all laughing, even Michu who hadn't done so in a long time. When they finally stopped, tears were streaming down her face and her beautiful smile was where it should have been for a long time.  
  
Michu was about to say something when a young fairy sentry came rushing in out of breath and clutching her side tightly. She had long pink hair down to her waist and her fragile butterfly wings were a soft turquoise melded into lime green when dipped in light. Her bright green eyes instantly fell to floor as she quickly bowed and then turned desperately to them.  
  
"Your Majesties! A prisoner has been released with a message!" She said between gasps for air. All three rose to their feet and rushed to get out of the room and find the brave soul.  
  
They rushed past a shocked Toby and Jake to come across a medical gremlin trying to help a shivering elf. His hair was a soft green and his eyes were diluted but a very piercing amber. One pointed ear was caked in blood and he held a pale, clammy hand over a bleeding wound where bright red blood was flowing freely down his side and staining his bronze uniform.  
  
Immediately Michu sat down and took his free hand, looking encouragingly into his eyes and speaking softly.  
  
"What is your name?" She asked softly, a reassuring smile gracing her features. Her soft tone relaxed the elf's shivers and he sat back slightly as the gremlin continued to work on his various wounds. The arm holding his side was at an odd angle and he seemed to have a lot of pain from a bleeding shoulder. He gasped for air before looking back at Michu.  
  
"I escaped from . . . Queen Morgana's . . . castle." He began softly, his voice like a soft wind. He wheezed heavily and coughed up some blood before he was able to continue. "I was . . . scouting territory with . . . my partner, Dogwood."  
  
"He was a unicorn, was he not?"  
  
"Yes." He coughed up a lot of blood this time and Michu had to support him before he could speak again. The silence in that room was tense enough to choke on and Jareth looked incredibly grim from his position beside Almanac.  
  
"What happened?" He finally relaxed a little and was able to speak again.  
  
"We were going through some of the captured territory to see if we could capture someone for information." He said slowly so that he could keep his sentences together. At this point he grimaced. "Instead we were captured and were forced to the castle of the Shadow Queen. We never saw her, but we could see her shadow in the room. We were tortured for information."  
  
Michu leaned forward to ease his quivering body when he started coughing up blood again. The gremlin scurried around frantically, trying any method of stopping the blood but there was just too much. Michu refused to look at her hands, which were soaked in his blood, and instead stared into his dimming eyes.  
  
"What did she want to know?"  
  
"She wanted to know where His Highness the Dream King was. But I swear that we didn't say anything! I swear!" He again started coughing violently and his hand in hers tightened and nearly broke the bones in her hand. His eyes were filled with desperation.  
  
"I believe you." Michu assured him. He sighed in relief and sat back slightly.  
  
"She decided to have us killed since we were of no use to her. She plans on attacking the next mountain in the same pattern as you determined in the earlier meetings and plans to surprise you." He began to cough and this time there was a gurgling sound deep in his throat. Michu took a deep, shuddering breath before looking back into his eyes.  
  
"You did more than you can ever imagined. You'll be honored as a hero." The elf looked into her face with awe in his eyes. He kissed her bloody fingers and then looked back at her with tears in his eyes.  
  
"Thank you, Highness. That is all I ever . . . ." He was never able to say the next word. At that moment his soul left him and he relaxed in her hold. His hand released hers and his eyes glazed over, his mouth falling open as tears continued to flow down his cheeks even in death. Blood dripped out of his mouth but his wound had already stopped bleeding. Michu took a deep, rattling breath before getting up and heading towards the window trembling. She put her hands on the windowsill and starred down at her bloody hands as little drops of blood fell to the ground below. She felt hot tears falling down along with the blood and soon she was weeping silently.  
  
Jareth stepped towards the dead elf and closed his eyes. He muttered a quick prayer for him and Almanac made a strange motion in the air to allow him to journey into his dreams instead of the land of the dead as most creatures were forced to enter. Tina stood at the door glaring at Michu. Seeing the blood on her hands made her think that it had been the Pixie Queen that had just killed the elf so she left the room to tell Toby and Jake what she had seen.  
  
Ayesha placed her snout on Michu's back and rubbed her back to comfort her. Almanac slowly came up behind her and touched her shoulder hesitantly. Michu turned her face away, feeling that comfort from him was too much to ask for. This was all her fault. Her pride, her arrogance of having been such a great military leader in the past was coming back to haunt her.  
  
She wiped at her eyes, not even caring that she was smearing her face with blood. She looked back at the elf and shuddered involuntarily. She had seen so much death in her life, but one single creature had suddenly forced her to see the true horrors that she had once thought were fun and games. How she hated and envied her ignorance as a child. Now she was too old to not see the naked truth before her eyes.  
  
"There is more, my lady." The fairy sentry whispered behind her. Michu turned and her eyes widened in shock and horror. On the floor beside the elf was a silver platter and on it were the unquestionable remains of a unicorn. The eyes had been carved out along with the heart and hairs of the unicorn and had been sewn into a bloody coat. And most terrible of all was the horn of the unicorn; its most precious treasure and its pride above all things.  
  
The unicorn's horn was shattered.  
  
Michu felt anger boiling up inside of her as she starred at the message that this represented. The Shadow Queen was not afraid to slaughter something as innocent as even a unicorn. She would carve out everything precious of her enemies and return the pieces in a form that would shame them if they were alive to see it. This was a message that if the Queen did not receive what she wanted immediately, than she would kill anyone and everyone that got in her way. She would shatter the very pride of the people and return it to them in pieces.  
  
Michu starred at the once-proud and pure unicorn and continued to stare as people ran out of the room crying and screaming. Others, like her, were too stunned to do anything but stare. Some turned away and others began to whisper about how terrible a crime this was. Almanac and Jareth were starring, but hatred was taking over their bodies and there was no doubt in anyone who viewed them that they were going to enjoy torturing Morgana to death.  
  
Michu walked calmly to the window where her bloody handprints were still fresh. She leaned over the side and vomited violently.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am so sorry that this took so long to get out. I was in New York for four days, I was buried to my ears in homework, and I had so much else to do that I kept pushing this back. I hope people still like and it and are willing to stay. I'll try to get another chapter out to you by the end of today! I won't name everyone who reviewed so that you get this chapter sooner. Sorry again! 


	12. A Young Mortal Will Choose a Side

Chapter: A Young Mortal Will Choose a Side  
  
Tina was absolutely furious.  
  
When she was furious she paced incessantly. When she paced incessantly, she grew cranky. When she was cranky, she became even more furious.  
  
She was walking around in the Pixie Gardens right beside the very spot she had first met Rhea. Tina couldn't get the woman out of her mind. She had so many questions, so much she wanted to know, and she wanted to discuss her thoughts with the only person in that horrible world who she could trust (besides Jake and Toby of course). When she heard footsteps, she whirled around to see the Pixie Queen walking towards her.  
  
Michu was distracted, her eyes glazed and somewhat hidden within dark purple circles. She was so thin now; it seemed that a good wind could blow her away. Her beautiful lavender hair hung limply over her shoulders and there was no sparkle in her face and skin as the other pixies had (even during war). When Michu realized that she wasn't alone, she stiffened.  
  
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to disturb you." Michu said, bowing respectfully and turning to leave.  
  
"You'd better be sorry." Tina hissed. "After all that you've done, you deserve to be sorry!" Michu stiffened but Tina could no longer see her face. Taking a deep breath, Michu continued on her way. When she was gone, Tina smirked, satisfied.  
  
"That was incredible!" Tina whirled around to discover that Rhea was standing behind her. Tina's entire face broke into a happy smile as she walked towards the other woman. She bowed as best she could and gave a half smile, though it seemed more like a sneer from the unnatural bulk of melted flesh on her left. She limped forward and looked up at the relaxed Tina.  
  
"You're back!" She said excitedly. "I have a lot of questions to ask you." Rhea looked around carefully and motioned for Tina to move towards the tree they were standing beside.  
  
"Climb to the top and we shall speak there. This tree is enchanted so that the Queen cannot see us." Tina instantly decided that the ex-slave merely didn't want to be caught by the horrible woman that she had been forced to serve under for so long. Tina climbed quickly and was a bit shocked at the agility of the other woman. Once at the top, Rhea sat down and tried to make her body comfortable.  
  
"Now then, what questions do you have for me?" Tina took a deep breath and sorted through the various questions in her mind for the ones that she wanted answered first.  
  
"Why did the Queen kill Sarah Williams?" Rhea pierced Tina with her good, green eye and continued to look at her closely before answering.  
  
"The Queen was jealous of Sarah." Tina sucked in a sharp breath, surprised that she had actually answered.  
  
"Jealous of what?"  
  
"Have you seen the way that the Queen eyes the Goblin King? They were once lovers and the Queen loved him dearly."  
  
"But . . . what does that have anything to do with Sarah Williams?"  
  
"Sarah was the Queen's closest friend. When the Goblin King met Sarah, he fell desperately in love with her. The Queen grew so jealous that she finally killed Sarah one day. She went to the Mortal Realm as a criminal merely to make the Goblin King believe that she had repented and that she was remorseful for the horrible crime that she had committed. And it seemed to have worked." It took Tina a moment to control her raging anger.  
  
"How did she drive her older sister mad?" Rhea began to choke and, after a moment of trying to compose her shattered dignity, was able to answer with a strained note in her voice.  
  
"Her sister was a wonderful princess who loved to dance, sing, and help others. Unfortunately, she wasn't a soldier like her sister. During a hard battle, she returned to her camp to discover that her sister was missing. The next day, the Queen's sister witnessed the death of her siblings and went mad with grief."  
  
"Where was Michu?"  
  
"She had betrayed her brother and sisters to the other side." Tina, again, felt anger coursing through her veins. She had been worried that maybe she had been too quick to judge Michu at first but now, there was no doubt in her mind that she deserved to be punished.  
  
"How did she meet Sarah?"  
  
"The Queen was going to meet the Goblin King when she discovered him hunched over one of his many crystals and starring at her. Filled with vengeful jealousy, the Queen went to the Human Realm and grew close to her. Perhaps the Goblin King would have noticed her again and forgotten the mortal. Eventually they became close friends. When the Queen discovered them together one night, she waited until the Goblin King had left and then killed her."  
  
"What a HORRIBLE person! What happened to Toby during that time?"  
  
"She cared for no one but herself. There is no way that a mortal child could have been in her thoughts when she killed her best friend."  
  
"I KNEW that she couldn't be trusted! I told them all but they wouldn't listen to me. Toby still thinks that there might be a speck of good in her. Don't ask me why; he's grown up with her so it might have been all of the lies and deceptions that she drummed into him over the years."  
  
"Yes, it must have been that."  
  
"She deserves to rot for what she did!"  
  
"She can." Tina stopped her ranting long enough to glance at Rhea curiously. She hadn't expected an answer; she had wanted to complain about all of the pent up emotions she had been experiencing for Toby. Ever since she had been young, she had wanted to save someone from danger and now that she had the chance, she was rather blind to everything else. She wanted to save Toby.  
  
"How can I punish her? She's a Queen!"  
  
"My mistress can match her."  
  
"Your mistress? Who is she?"  
  
"She is Queen Morgana."  
  
"Wait a minute, is she the Queen that everyone is fighting against?"  
  
"Why do you think they're fighting? Morgana wishes to rid this world and your world of the Pixie Queen once and for all. Sarah was not the first person that she wronged in that respect. It is because of the Pixie Queen that Morgana lost someone very dear to her."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The love of her life." She sighed deeply, showing great remorse for the loss of her mistress. "But there is no need in speaking of the past. We must look towards the future and find a way to punish her to save anyone else the heartache that she has already caused."  
  
"What can we do?"  
  
"Come with me to my mistress! She will lure the Queen to us and then take her captive! She knows all ways to torture people according to their crimes." Tina felt something, like an alarm bell going off in her head. She quickly smothered it and set her jaw stubbornly.  
  
"Alright. I'll come with you and we'll get her there to punish her. But we have to make it look like a fair exchange. She'll only come if it'll make her look like a hero." Rhea looked intrigued for a moment.  
  
"Her life in exchange for the lives of my mistress' prisoners. An excellent idea. She would be showing that she means no one else any harm and also a way to punish the Queen."  
  
"Let's go! Right now." Rhea smiled dangerously, or perhaps gratefully (it was hard to tell with the number of burns on her face). She bowed her head and lifted her gnarled walking stick.  
  
"As you wish."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To Whom It May Concern:  
  
There has been a compromise reached between the Shadow Army and those that are fighting against it. The Queen has agreed to make an exchange of soldiers.  
  
Queen Velderia of the Pixie Kingdom will be exchanged for the Goblin Monarchs, the pixie advisor, the two prisoners of war, and the mortal Tina.  
  
Sincerely, Queen Morgana.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am so sorry that this took so long to get out. I could make up tons of excuses but I can honestly say that I was very busy. I hope this makes up for it and a big conflict will be coming up very soon! ^^ So stay tuned! 


	13. With a Woman Who Knows When to Hide

Chapter: With a Woman Who Know When to Hide  
  
Sarah growled angrily in her sleep, eyes twitching, and her body jerking every few seconds. It was this movement that woke her oldest son, Seth. He sat up and rubbed his eyes carefully before shaking his brother awake. Cain sat up sleepily and realized that his mother was having a nightmare. Ritsu twitched and woke up, her eyes opening a crack to see what the other occupants of the room were doing.  
  
At that moment, Seth was thinking about his older brother, Leo. He was somewhere in another dungeon and was probably starving just like them. Would he hear his mother if she screamed in her dreams as she had been doing since arriving in the dungeons? Leo would have known exactly what to do to comfort his mother. After all, being eighteen made Leo a lot more mature than his brothers.  
  
"Michu . . . don't . . . I promise it wasn't like that! She's . . . trying to trick you. Michu!" She was mumbling in her sleep, her hands balling into fists so tight, blood dripped from her palms. Ritsu strained against her chains feebly and cleared her throat loudly before trying to use it.  
  
"Prince Seth, wake your mother." Seth did as he was told and shook Sarah hard to get her away from the monsters in her dreams. After a minute of this (and Sarah protesting loudly) they were able to wake her.  
  
"Queen Sarah, are you alright?" Ritsu asked from her place at the wall. She strained against the dark shackles that had her bound and was shocked when they released her. Ritsu stumbled to Sarah and sat beside her, rubbing her bruised and bleeding wrists.  
  
"I'm alright." Sarah whispered as she sat up and massaged her head. She glanced at the empty shackles and then at the suddenly free Ritsu. "How did you get out?" Ritsu shrugged.  
  
"I don't have a clue." She admitted. "They must be planning to take us out." Sarah stiffened considerably.  
  
"You don't suppose our side surrendered?"  
  
"Mummy?" Cain whispered, frightened. "Is daddy alright?" Sarah smiled and kissed his forehead.  
  
"Don't worry darling. He's fine." Sarah said with more courage than she had. Could Jareth be the one that was going to release them? Or was the Shadow Queen tired of keeping them captive and planning to kill one of them? Sarah refused to allow her children to be harmed in any way. If someone were going to be killed, it would be Sarah, (that or the creature attempting to kill one of her children).  
  
"So you are all still alive. Good." The voice sent fear into Sarah's entire body and she whirled around only to gasp in shock.  
  
  
  
  
  
Almanac cursed loudly and smashed the nearest chair out the window (scaring the crap out of the guards at the door and those down below). Jareth was taking VERY deep breaths and counting to ten very slowly. At last, he turned back to the guards, who were shrunken against the walls with utter terror visible in their eyes. The taller of the two even squeaked in mortification when Almanac grabbed the fronts of his cloths and pulled him into the air.  
  
"Where is Michu?!" The guard swallowed deeply.  
  
"She told us not to say! She just wanted us to give you this!" The soldier feebly held up a piece of paper, which was snatched away from him by Jareth. Almanac threw the soldier at his partner and both scurried away as quickly as they could. To escape the wrath of those two Fae was something to be boasted about (as well as to slink cautiously by when confronting them in the future).  
  
"She's gone to Morgana's kingdom. Alone." Jareth muttered darkly. Almanac snatched the paper and read through it quickly before ripping it to pieces and screaming in fury again.  
  
"Why would she do something so stupid?!"  
  
"She feels that she owes Sarah for all that's happened." Jareth said simply, his entire body tense and his eyes unnaturally narrowed. "And for the forgiveness of Toby, I suspect."  
  
"Who bloody cares?" Almanac screamed furiously as he kicked the nearest inanimate object (a table that collapsed in on itself). "She . . . can't do this. Not now. I was so close! I almost got up the nerve to tell her." Jareth rubbed his temples.  
  
"Perhaps they will escape."  
  
"Yeah," Almanac said doubtfully, "and Morgana will see the error in her ways and call off the war."  
  
  
  
  
  
Leo Koblin, the Crown Prince and future Heir to the Throne of the Goblin Kingdom, most charming of all princes, most handsome of all Fae, growled furiously once more. He tugged mercilessly at the chains restraining him, his eyes narrowed in concentration but also filled with despair. He had been trying to escape for so long (he couldn't remember for how long exactly), and yet he had never been able to even shift his restraints.  
  
"You shouldn't do that." Leo stopped straining the second that he heard another person's voice. The voice had been light and clear, not in the least bit worried that there was no light in the dungeon and that the door was locked like a steel drum. "You might hurt yourself. I can't see you and fix your booboo with a kiss."  
  
"Whose there?" Leo asked cautiously. He could hear shifting and then someone sitting down by his feet. A giggle escaped the girl's lips and he could feel the brush of hair against his soiled boots. The first thing that leapt to his mind was that this girl had to be a little girl, perhaps even a child.  
  
"What's YOUR name?" The girl playfully replied. Leo felt his face turning bright red and he shifted uncomfortably when the girl placed her head on his knee as if he were a bed rest. It felt unnerving to have a person (of the opposite gender) resting on him.  
  
"I asked you first."  
  
"I asked you second."  
  
"So you should answer me first."  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
"Why not? It's only fair."  
  
"The world isn't fair."  
  
"Why won't you be fair though?"  
  
"I don't feel like it. Today isn't my listening-day. Those are later and only when she's here." Leo paused for a moment and considered his options for a minute.  
  
"I'm Leo."  
  
"I'm Thalia."  
  
"A pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Nice to meet you too."  
  
A rather oppressive silence followed in which Leo tried to think of something else to say. The girl seemed perfectly content to say nothing and just loll her head over his knee and hum to herself. That was when it occurred to Leo that she might not have been in her right mind.  
  
"Are you sane, my lady?" He blurted out the questions before he could stop himself even after the endless years of good-breeding he had gone through his entire life. His father would have probably killed him for that absolutely degrading question but (at the moment) he was more unprepared for the answer that came than worried about what his father would have said.  
  
"I don't believe I am. My brother and sisters don't come to see me anymore, though." There was a hint of a pout in her words as she started to draw invisible lines on Leo's thigh (which thoroughly scared the poor Fae to the brink of insanity himself). "I tried to be nice to mother when she came, but it was all her fault. I saw her killing them."  
  
"Your mother?"  
  
"If we behave, she'll let us play outside." Leo was temporarily thrown off balance when she changed the subject and got up from her spot beside his leg. From the sound of moving cloth, Leo could only guess that she was dancing. That or she was pacing the room (he personally agreed with his first choice).  
  
"Who is she?" Thalia giggled.  
  
"Michu of course! My little sister."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am so sorry that this took so long to get out. I could make up tons of excuses but I can honestly say that I was very busy. I hope this makes up for it and a big conflict will be coming up very soon! In fact, the next chapter is the one that all of you have been waiting for! All of you finally get to meet Queen Morgana! ^^ So stay tuned! 


	14. Into This Torrent of Nightmares

Chapter: Into This Torrent of Nightmares  
  
Tina looked around the castle she stood in with a mixture of disguised fear and uneasiness. The sky outside was pitch black and the violent storm clouds vented out their rage by hurling massive bolts of lightening every two seconds. She began to pace after a while until; finally, two beings came towards her. The first was Rhea, grimacing (or smiling) excitedly as she glanced towards the door every now and then. Beside her stood a woman bathed in darkness and shadows, everything but her glowing red eyes recognizable. One thing that didn't seem to fit with her personality was the fact that she was rather short.  
  
"This is my mistress, Queen Morgana." The Queen inclined her head and smirked, showing bright teeth. Tina tried to smile back but there was something very sinister about the way that Morgana was looking at her. It was almost a carnal smirk and Tina was afraid that her smile might betray how terrified she had just become. Instead, she nodded. "Please excuse her, she's rather shy around newcomers and will refrain from speaking for a while." Tina nodded. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the Queen's voice.  
  
"I understand." Tina said, just to keep herself from shuddering. Instead of forcing that horrifying smirk off of the Queen's face, it only served to strengthen it. Tina gave an involuntary shudder and turned away to hide the blush on her cheeks.  
  
"Bring out the prisoners." Rhea barked in a voice that Tina had never heard before. She watched as several shadow guards rushed out of the room and soon returned with quite a group of people. One was a tall pixie in tattered clothing and limp hair that was far too dirty to categorize as a color. The next that came through the door was a much taller young man with icy blond hair, a pair of bright blue eyes, and very tanned skin. Tina immediately knew that he and Jareth HAD to be related in some way.  
  
The next to come out was a beautiful pixie woman. Baby blue hair framed a porcelain face and glazed hazel eyes. The woman seemed incredibly attached to the other boy since she basically followed him like a puppy dog and smiled warmly at Queen Morgana. That part was rather frightening since her smile was that of a child and the Queen's was that of a murderer. After them came the most beautiful woman Tina had ever set eyes on.  
  
Despite the dirt and grim clinging to her like a second skin, her milky flesh was perfectly visible and vibrant. Her elegant hands were permanently attached to two quivering boys that also held a close resemblance to Jareth. Her long brown-black hair fell like a curtain over her ripped and tattered gown and her bright green eyes held flecks of royal gold.  
  
Somehow, Tina started feeling warning bells going off in her mind, louder than usual. Something about the entire situation was telling her that she was making a grave mistake and that she really was going to regret every bad thing she had ever done. Somehow, in some little corner of her mind, she knew that she had just committed a sin worthy of any pit in Hell. She was shocked out of her thoughts when a voice spoke out of the tense silence.  
  
"Thalia!" The brown haired woman said upon seeing the blue haired pixie. The pixie blinked several times at her and tilted her head.  
  
"I remember you!" She said excitedly. "You knew Michu, didn't you?" The woman continued to stare at her for a long time until several shadow soldiers came towards the Queen and bowed.  
  
"She's here." The told her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Michu walked through the doors of the Shadow Castle with a full squad of shadow soldiers flanking her on all sides. Her daggers were strapped to her waist and she had her hands hanging limply and in no position to grab her weapons if something attacked her. Instead, she kept her eyes forward and refused to even acknowledge that anyone was with her.  
  
When she finally arrived at a huge archway with carvings of death around the door's threshold, Michu lifted her chin and stepped in quietly. All fell silent when she entered and she noticed that Tina was glaring directly at her. Michu allowed a twisted smirk to cover her face as she lifted her daggers out of their place and held them up.  
  
"MICHU!!" The brown haired woman screamed. Tina starred at Michu to see her reaction. She was surprised to find a sad smile on her face.  
  
"Hello. Are those your children? They've grown since the eight hundred years since we've last seen each other." In the Underground, time behaved differently than in the normal world. While eighteen years had passed in the Human Realm, eight hundred had passed in the Underground. Still, Tina didn't know this.  
  
"Michu, don't! Please!" Michu smiled and glanced at the Shadow Queen, bathed in shadows and that horrible smirk back in place.  
  
"If you release them now, I will come willingly."  
  
"Michu!" The brown haired woman began to fight violently against the guards holding her back. The children gathered around the older boy of eighteen and watched as their usual warm-tempered mother fought like a caged animal. The pixie advisor, Ritsu Tina guessed, began to fight just as violently.  
  
"Thalia." The word was spoken so simply, the entire room grew silent. Michu's eyes widened and she swayed on her feet, seemingly on the verge of fainting. The pixie starred at her for a long time and a small squeak escaped her lips.  
  
"Little Michu!" Her eyes widened and she lashed out, catching a shadow guard unawares and nearly reached Michu before several other guards were forced to restrain her. She began to fight tooth and nail, her entire attitude changing at the mere sight of the Pixie Queen. "Michu! Run! Mother is going to make you forget the little Dream Prince!" Someone drew in a hissing, sharp breath. Tina whirled around to discover Rhea's good eye narrowed to a slit. This time there was no mistaking the loathing in her entire being.  
  
"Rhea?" Tina whispered in a tiny voice. Instead of smiling and apologizing, Rhea began to laugh. Michu gasped and began to storm forward if the Shadow Queen hadn't placed a dagger right at the brown haired woman's throat. That was when the shadows fell away and all in the room witness the true form of the Queen.  
  
Her hair was beautiful lavender and her ears were pointed to fine points. She was rather short and her hands were long and delicate as she held the dagger lazily but with obvious skill. She was the mirror image of Michu save for her glowing red eyes.  
  
"Now, now, no need for heroics." She said, her voice an exact copy of Michu's in every tone and curve. If only for her cruel eyes, she and Michu might have been twins. She lifted the dagger the slightest bit and a vein throbbed beneath the sharp metal.  
  
"I have given myself up; there is no need to drag anyone else into this." Michu whispered as she dropped her daggers onto the floor and allowed her hands to fall to her sides limply. Shadow warriors rushed forward and began to check her for other weapons and to disarm her magic.  
  
"Michu! Stop! I don't care anymore! We forgive you for anything that happened; we don't care! None of us do; we don't care who you killed in the past. Please Michu! Don't!" The brown-haired woman and the rest of the prisoners were forced out of the room and were being taken to a transportation room to send them to the borders of the Pixie Kingdom. Tina was surprised when soldiers began to push her roughly after them.  
  
"Are you content Tina?" Tina whirled around to stare at Michu. She looked utterly calm and collected, even if the single tear on her face spoke volumes of her helplessness. "That you have finally taken revenge for what I have done?" Tina glared at Michu and spat on the floor.  
  
"You deserve it!" She hissed. Michu laughed of all things, and it wasn't a happy sound. Tina felt a chill race down her spine.  
  
"Oh good. I was wondering for quite a while why you would be conversing with my mother." Tina turned shocked eyes towards Rhea but she had her good eye fixated on Michu. Michu, in turn, stared directly at her. "Hello mother. I see that the Furies didn't get to you after all."  
  
"It doesn't matter." Rhea hissed.  
  
"I'll have to speak to them later and figure out just what happened to my spell." Michu said lightly, her eyes traveling to the ceiling. Tina was being pushed out just when the Shadow Queen removed a veil from seemingly thin air. She handed it to Michu.  
  
"Drink this." She whispered once Tina was out of the room. She didn't see Michu take the veil and down it, immediately fainting once it was searing down her throat. She didn't see the Shadow Queen start laughing, but she did hear that horrible sound.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Tina felt the tension as their small party made their way to the Pixie Castle. They all seemed very grim and Tina, again, felt that sinking feeling that she had committed a terrible crime. It took her a while to finally squish the voice in her mind that was cursing her and she settled on keeping her mind focused on walking. She didn't bother to ask any of them for their names.  
  
They entered the castle very quietly. The guards stood aside looking dreary and utterly defeated. Some were crying on the shoulders of others, some were sniffing and blinking a great deal; some were yelling at others, and some just stared blankly ahead. Two of them glared at Tina, probably knowing perfectly well that she had been behind the entire thing. Tina held her head high and pretended to ignore them.  
  
When they arrived at the War Room, Tina was shocked when Jareth strode forward and embraced the woman tightly, faint sobs escaping him as he held onto her as if she were a lifeline. The two children and the eighteen-year- old boy leapt forward and hugged the man. The five of them laughed with a mixture of relief and bliss. Tina glanced over at Jake, who gave her a questioning look when he saw her.  
  
"Where is Michu?" A quiet, calm voice asked from the darkest corner of the room. Tina glanced towards the speaker and discovered Almanac. His hair was tussled and there were very dark and grotesque circles under his eyes. He looked like a skeleton with dead eyes. The Dragon Queen, Ayesha, just shook her massive head, already knowing the answer.  
  
"She's gone!" Tina spoke up smugly. "She won't be coming back either!" Unexpectedly, Tina found herself on the floor with a huge welt on her cheek. She looked up, shocked, to discover the beautiful Goblin Queen glaring down at her, livid and furious.  
  
"How DARE you do this to her! You don't even know her! What makes you think that this was any of your business to begin with? I wish to speak to your monarch immediately!"  
  
"W-Why?" Tina asked in a tiny voice. She felt so inferior in front of this horrible Goddess. There was something that forbade defiance to her every wish.  
  
"I wish you BANISHED! How DARE you do this!" She continued. She might have struck Tina again if a tired form hadn't appeared by the door. All of the residents of the room turned to find Toby, rubbing his tired blue eyes and trying to flatten his disheveled golden hair. He also had rings under his eyes and he hid a yawn as he came forward to get a bitter look at the people in the room.  
  
When he noticed Tina on the floor, he stepped forward to see who could have struck his friend. His protests and insults died in his throat and his heart gave a sickening squeeze. Brown hair and green eyes flashed, and a face that Toby could remember as vividly as he could the back of his hand. How many hours had he sat on Jareth's lap and simply starred at that face?  
  
He took a stumbling step forward, his eyes the size of his shock and words forming but getting stuck on the way to the ears of others. Finally, one single name broke the silence and the hearts of everyone in the room.  
  
"Sarah?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Here you go, Tina finally gets bitch slapped, Toby sees Sarah, Jake sees Sarah, Tina sees Sarah, the mysterious one-eyed woman was actually Michu's mother, the mysterious woman in Leo's cell was actually Thalia, Michu's crazed sister, AND Queen Morgana looks exactly like Michu! Does that explain everything? I hope so. ^_^ Well, here was the chapter I've been DIEING to write! I hope you all liked it. The end is still rather far from coming so stay tuned! 


	15. Where Love is so Unfair

Chapter: Where Love is So Unfair  
  
"Sarah?"  
  
That single name broke the tension, the anger, the sadness, the happiness; every emotion but shock or grim understanding coursed through the room. Everyone held his or her breath save for Sarah, who was looking rather confused.  
  
"Excuse me, have we met?" Sarah asked with polite curiosity. Toby's expression turned to that of longing and continued disbelief, his eyes growing continuously larger and hinting that they might just pop out of his head at any given moment. He took a stumbling step forward and he only just caught himself before falling.  
  
"Sarah, its me! Its Toby!" Sarah's confusion turned instantly into surprise and also a hint of rage. She whirled around to face Jareth and Almanac.  
  
"We had nothing to do with him being here." Jareth said calmly. "He and his friends came here completely by accident. As a matter of fact, Michu specifically forbade them to come with her." Toby's face turned from shocked to guilt ridden and painfully white.  
  
"Wait a minute . . . she never . . . Michu couldn't have killed you." Sarah stared at him as if he were crazy for a long moment before realization dawned on her face. She glanced at Jareth who nodded and confirmed her suspicions.  
  
"No. Michu pretended to kill me so that Jareth and I would never be able to go to her without being recognized. She was very clever." Toby kept taking steps back, on the verge of passing out. He reached out and grabbed the nearest person, who just happened to be Jake. The other residents of the room were shaking their heads in confusion or pity.  
  
"But why?" Toby whispered, almost too faintly to be heard. Sarah sighed deeply and motioned for them all to take a seat.  
  
"This is a very long story that all of you should hear. There are some things that I have been keeping from you." Everyone sat down at various places but eventually everyone was sitting more or less comfortably (even though some refused to remain comfortable, such as Tina). Even the children sat around their mother or in their father's lap. All of them looked incredibly grim.  
  
"This began during the finally ball before the beginning of the worst Great War in the history of the Underground." Sarah began. "I wasn't going to be born for several thousand years but Michu, Jareth, and Almanac were all teenagers at the time. I was there."  
  
"But you said that you weren't born yet!" Tina said triumphantly, trying to disprove that Sarah could really be there.  
  
Sarah hissed at her angrily. "I'm not at that part of the story yet!" Tina shrank back, wounded and scared. Sarah glared at her for a long moment before calming down and continuing with her story.  
  
"I was there because of a spell that sent me into the future. I saw Michu dancing with Almanac and everyone being entirely happy. Michu's mother took her aside and struck her for being close to Almanac. She forced a potion onto Michu that made her forget Almanac and instead made her fall in love with Jareth." Sarah turned to him apologetically. "That was why she thought she was in love with you." Jareth had his head in his hands, eyes clenched shut.  
  
"So . . . Michu loved me?" Almanac asked in little above a whisper. Sarah nodded and looked away from his despairing eyes. She felt as if she had betrayed him by not saying anything about her experience in the Time Wall earlier. All of this might have been avoided if only she had spoken up and told anyone, even Jareth, that Michu's mother was the blame for everything.  
  
"I first got involved in the Labyrinth when I started reading a book depicting the Labyrinth and its residents. I hated my stepmother, my father ignored me, my mother was never around, and Toby was there only to drive me insane. I'm sorry Toby, but that was how I felt at the time. I was just so ANGRY that the world was so against me. Toby was the closest and easiest person to pin all of my troubles on."  
  
Toby felt numb. The Goddess, the princess, the perfect image that he had constructed to be his older sister was crashing down on his head. Now that the truth was being revealed to him, Toby felt somehow betrayed. It was ironic that he had extracted his revenge through an innocent person who had loved him.  
  
"I wished Toby away. I didn't think my wish would actually be granted and when Jareth actually took him, I was outraged. The world had found yet another way to get back at me. I went into the Labyrinth and solved it, saving my brother in the process. I thought I had finally beaten the world and I felt that Toby was a gift and not a blessing."  
  
Tina sat in her seat, fidgeting. She should have listened to that little voice in the back of her mind that had told her not to do it. She had known, she had KNOWN, that she would come to regret every single thing she had ever said to Michu. No one would have cringed and blushed the way she had if they had seriously killed someone out of jealousy. Tina was entirely to blame for her capture and she was having trouble confronting herself.  
  
"Michu came to my Labyrinth disguised as Sarah." Jareth said, surprising everyone. "I really thought it was her. She went through my entire Labyrinth, but when she saved Hoggle from death, I knew that she couldn't have been Sarah." Sarah gave him a sharp look. "A centaur attempted to kill her but Hoggle leapt into the way. She used magic to heal him of wounds that would have killed him instantly if not treated with anything but immediate magic." He explained. "After I knew that she wasn't Sarah, I banished her to the Human Realm."  
  
"I met her there. I don't think she intentionally became my roommate at college but she ended up showing me a great deal about myself. I learnt that what I really wanted to do was write and that I loved to write about everything. If someone didn't like something I wrote, she would point out that the person probably didn't like it for a reason that I had never considered before. She made me feel as if I wasn't betraying my mother by not wanting to follow in her footsteps and become an actress, like her. Michu went to all of my auditions anyway and gave me confidence if I was accepted or not." Sarah said as her eyes slightly glazed as she remembered better days.  
  
"Eventually my mother came and crashed our party. After some serious soul cleansing, Michu somehow found out that I was connected to Jareth. She got so mad; I think she was on the verge of hitting me. She has NEVER hurt me in my entire life." This part was direct at Tina, who shrank back into her seat. "We resolved our fight the next morning but Jareth came and stole Toby again. The two of us went into his Labyrinth again in order to save Toby."  
  
"When we got back home, we lived relatively normally even though Michu now did a lot of magic at home when she had never done it before. I also had Toby move in with us since I didn't think that Karen and dad were good enough for him. You seemed to want to stay with us." Sarah looked at Toby apologetically again. The young man was staring at the floor, shuffling his feet slightly and growing slightly paler by the minute.  
  
"On Sarah's birthday I came to their house." Jareth explained since Sarah seemed to have drifted off at the sight of Toby. His voice, however, brought her back to reality.  
  
"Right. Well, Michu used magic to get Jareth out of the house but some kind of pixie saw it and told her mother. She summoned the three of us: Jareth, Michu and I to the castle. Jareth and Michu started insulting her and she sent us into her Labyrinth and we had to go through it without magic. Jareth was allergic to the magic there so we had to move quickly or he would have a sneezing fit and at one point we lost Michu when SHE tried to use magic."  
  
"Eventually we made it to the castle before Michu since she was meeting Almanac in his bird form at the time. When we got there we managed to take over the castle but Michu came back with us. The four of us along with Toby lived together until, well, until Jareth proposed to me." At this point Sarah started speaking in a pained but rushed voice. "Michu walked in on us and still thought that she loved Jareth. She was so upset that she left immediately without telling any of us. Then when Jareth took me to the Underground to get married, Michu staged our deaths so that she could be taken to a place that we wouldn't be able to go to, especially because we're supposedly dead."  
  
"And if we were to try to explain to the police what was going on than there was a big chance that they would find out what I was." Jareth said with a strained note to his voice. "We were completely stuck. Not only that but there was no way that we could take Toby to the Underground with us. There were police on watch all the time in case Michu supposedly broke out of prison and came to take him." Jareth sighed tiredly and rubbed his forehead. "Our neighbors had told the police all about Michu's complete love for Toby and how she would do practically anything for him. ANYTHING." At this he glared at Tina who cringed slightly.  
  
"Enough talk!" Ayesha said impatiently as she thumped her tail hard and nearly killed Jake in the process. "We have to get an army ready or some kind of plan for rescuing her!"  
  
"Why don't I just trade myself for her?" Almanac whispered softly, staring at Sarah bleakly. The brown haired queen whirled on him furiously.  
  
"Don't you DARE! Michu would never forgive you if you ever did something so stupid!"  
  
"She traded herself for you!" Almanac shot back angrily.  
  
"That was incredibly stupid of her!" Sarah snapped angrily. "I wish she had never-," Jareth leapt forward and covered her mouth quickly. Sarah mumbled in surprise and looked up at him.  
  
"Sarah, do you happen to remember what happened the LAST time you wished for something?" Sarah grew pale and nodded once, remaining silent even after he removed his gloved hand from her mouth. Everyone looked around tensely, trying to think of something to say or do that would make the situation better since it didn't seem capable of getting any worse. At last, Ayesha sighed tiredly and released a small cloud of smoke that drifted to the top of the room.  
  
"We have to find a way to get her out of there." Jareth said quietly.  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Here you go, Tina finally gets bitch slapped, Toby sees Sarah, Jake sees Sarah, Tina sees Sarah, the mysterious one-eyed woman was actually Michu's mother, the mysterious woman in Leo's cell was actually Thalia, Michu's crazed sister, AND Queen Morgana looks exactly like Michu! Does that explain everything? I hope so. ^_^ Well, here was the chapter I've been DIEING to write! I hope you all liked it. The end is still rather far from coming so stay tuned! Please excuse the EXTREMELY long wait! I love you all for sticking with me! Please forgive me all of you, I'm trying my hardest to catch up with all of the writing that I should have done a long time ago. 


	16. Through Hardships Unknown

Chapter: Where Love is So Unfair  
  
Toby couldn't believe that he had ever convinced himself to hate Michu. She had been the brightest ray of sunshine in his young life with her gentle magic and her way of smiling even more brightly whenever he came bounding into the room.  
  
He sat in his corner of the War Room remembering all of the good memories of the woman he had twisted to become the horrible monster that had killed her beloved, angelic sister. He remembered one particularly snowy Christmas. Michu had just come back from selling a new book and her face was rosy from the cold, eyes gleaming with joy at the sight of him.  
  
"Hello little prince!" She had said in a lovely, pulsating voice that made him feel warm and fuzzy. "Be careful or the Snow Dancers might come along and steal you away!" Toby had laughed, smiling at her.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"A Snow Dancer? They are mystical creatures that play in the deepest, darkest, coldest snow, twirling around and around with their long flowing ball gowns. To see them is considered good luck but be careful my little prince: they can distract you and bind you in their world of dreams forever. They're quite dangerous." She had said this so calmly and so seriously that Toby was very anxious to go out to play in the snow to see if he could catch one of these Snow Dancers.  
  
Toby wasn't entirely sure why he was thinking about Snow Dancers now when Michu was in grave danger, possibly already dead because of him. If he had never forced himself to believe the police saying that Michu was a horrible murderer, he would have never grown so bitter about what had happened to Sarah. If he had never done that he would never have told Jake and Tina about having hated her and Tina would have never gotten Michu to surrender to Queen Morgana in her stead.  
  
It all came back to him. All of this was his fault. If he had never grabbed onto Jareth's cloak they would have never ended up in the castle to begin with. They would still be in Aboveground and safely tucked away from this awful war.  
  
"Toby?" Toby snapped out of his musing and stared down at Sarah. The beautiful Goblin Queen was sitting by his knee, staring up at him sadly. His nephews were watching him curiously from behind the safety of their imposing father.  
  
"Yes Sarah?" He asked as calmly as he could. He winced when her name came out as more of a squeak than a word, his emotions clogging off his throat. Sarah ignored the tremor in her younger brother's voice and gently placed a hand on his knee.  
  
"Toby, I'm sorry that you had to be dragged into all of this. I would have brought you to the Underground to live with us if I could. I'm so sorry." Toby stared down at her, not completely listening to her. He was seeing that wonderful smile on Michu's face when Sarah came in. He was remembering how the two of them would smile knowingly at each other all the time, giggling at the same things, making jokes that only the two of them understood. What could have possessed him to believe that his Michu was capable of killing Sarah?  
  
"Toby, snap out of it." Jareth said, coming to stand beside him. "We don't blame you, Toby. You were confused from an early age. No, we're all to blame. We've all contributed to the problem in one way or another. Though I had wished your friend would be more obedient when we informed her that this was something she had nothing to do with." Jareth gave Tina a withering glare, one which she cringed from.  
  
"I'm just mad at myself for believing it in the first place." Toby confessed, looking down at his clenched hands. "I should never have listened to them." Sarah placed her hand over his clenched fists and smiled up at him.  
  
"It's not your fault Toby."  
  
"It might as well have been."  
  
"Nothing good will come from beating yourself up about it." Jareth stated soothingly. "Its all of our faults for various reasons. Sarah's for not wanting to involve you, Almanac for loving Michu, myself for not thinking of anyone but Sarah and of course Michu for simply being confused. You'll always be our favorite little boy but if we're to bring Michu back we can't have you thinking about something you can't change or even blame yourself for. It was our faults." Jareth and Sarah's children looked at their father in awe. He only treated his children with such kindness.  
  
"We must create some kind of rescue plan." Ayesha insisted. The others looked at the frustrated Dragon Queen. She thumped her tail on the hard stone floor and a small cloud of smoke was forming around her nostrils at her growing irritation. "We can't just sit back and let her be taken by the enemy when her presence away from the soldiers could very well discourage any of the last morale we could have possibly had if she was still here. The ranks will fall out of line, we won't know where to attack and the fact that we traded such an important general will not go unnoticed by other enemies that have been neutral thus far. We have to get her back!"  
  
Tina sat a bit away from the crowd, trying to draw as little attention to herself as she possibly could. Though she normally would have said to hell with Michu, there were other things to worry about, but she knew now that such a comment was liable to get her killed either by accident or intentionally. There was very little love in the room and none seemed to be spared for her. Even Jake had stopped looking at her and Toby had ignored her ever since he had discovered his long considered dead older sister.  
  
"Isn't there a way to sneak into wherever they're holding her?" Jake asked, trying to make up for all of the terrible things he had ever thought of Michu. To his horror he had found that a woman who he had once considered a monster was actually a very innocent victim trying to protect the glorified image of his best friend. Perhaps if he could help rectify that mistake, he could somehow get Toby and Michu to forgive him for all of his ill will.  
  
"There are several ways in. It's the way out that's the most trouble." Jareth replied sagely, sitting back with a thoughtful expression on his face. Almanac quietly shifted in his seat.  
  
"I have a plan." The King of Dreams admitted softly. He seemed to have gotten over his devastation that Michu had been kidnapped and decided to do something about it. Sarah had the sinking feeling that his plan would 1) be incredibly dangerous, 2) put Almanac at risk, and 3) would be unarguable with the stubborn man. Sarah mentally prepared herself to oppose whatever plan he had formulated.  
  
"I suggest that a select number of us penetrate the castle's defenses. One of us should go in through several secret passages and find Michu while everyone else creates a diversion so that Michu can get safely out of there. Meanwhile, Morgana won't know what hit her simply because it's such a simple plan." Jareth was one step ahead of his wife.  
  
"There are so many things that could go wrong with that! What if the diversions aren't enough? What if Morgana sees it coming and, in fact, planned it? Who actually KNOWS the secret passages in her castle besides her?" Almanac cut him off calmly.  
  
"I know the secret passages of her castle." Everyone stared at him in either awe or astonishment, mostly a mixture of both. "The Queen has a horrible nightmare that she's trapped in her own castle and runs through each passage, trying to get out of any secret ones. I've watched them for any future missions we might have come up with if we needed such information."  
  
"So that would mean that you would be the one to go into the castle and save Michu? Almanac, you do realize that you're the one Morgana's been after all along, correct? And you do realize that if you're caught the entire point of this rescue mission would be in vain? And that if Michu ever comes back to us she'll have my head for allowing such a thing?" Jareth said all of this calmly and emotionlessly but there was an undercurrent note of tension that only Toby, Sarah and Almanac noticed.  
  
"I'm perfectly aware of all of this, Jareth. I simply can't leave Michu in that castle, alone, without even any weapons to defend herself. That potion might have even killed her!" Almanac's eyes suddenly took on a panicked glint. "You don't understand Jareth! I could never . . . if she died I would never have even been able to tell her how I feel!" Sarah and Jareth exchanged a long, exhausted glance.  
  
"It's dangerous." Sarah warned.  
  
"Everything's dangerous during a time of war." Almanac said softly, getting himself back under control. "I don't care what you say. I'm going to rescue her whether you create a diversion for me or not." Jareth stood and quickly placed a reassuring hand on Almanac's shoulder.  
  
"We'll create a diversion for you, don't worry." He said in a very soothing voice. Sarah came and hugged them both, trembling slightly.  
  
"We'll get Michu back." Sarah whispered to them. "What kinds of friends would we be if we left or there?"  
  
And so it was that Ayesha, Almanac and Sarah made their way into the Shadow Realm where Michu was being held prisoner. Almanac secretly clenched his eyes, hoping to see into Michu's dreams but the divide between realms and flying on the back of a dragon made such a connection impossible.  
  
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of things and I apologize to everyone who's been waiting for so long. I'll try to crank out chapters as often as I can but as a Junior *nearly dies from the shock of it* I'll probably be having a lot more work to do in school. Review please! 


	17. And Dangers Unnumbered

Chapter: And Dangers Unnumbered  
  
Sarah couldn't believe that she was once again on her way to fight in a Labyrinth she knew nothing about, in a land she knew even less about to save someone who meant the world to her. The dreaded sense of déjà vu made Sarah wonder if she was destined to travel in Labyrinths for the rest of her life. In the back of her mind she knew it was worth all of the dangers and turmoil of having to go through each trial.  
  
Throughout her life Sarah had always gone from good to bad to hell and then heaven. Living in her the Goblin Labyrinth with her husband was one of the treasures in her life she hoped to never forget if she would ever have to leave that place. She loved Jareth more than she loved her own life and her children meant so much to her. The price she paid to get her family, however, had been incredibly high. First she had lost Michu and then she had lost Toby. After a while she even lost Almanac, who had become a dear friend of hers after her struggle in Michu's Labyrinth.  
  
The Goblin Queen could still remember the wonderful wedding Jareth had given her, something that she would always cherish as long as she lived. She remembered the dress she had worn as they took their vows, the very same dress in which Jareth had danced with her in his crystal while trying to distract her from saving Toby the first time.  
  
Toby.  
  
Just thinking about the blond haired young man she had met earlier, Sarah could barely believe it had actually been her younger brother from so long ago. True, his baby blue eyes and golden hair were identical to her younger sibling but she still couldn't see the sweet brother she still remembered so vividly.  
  
"Be careful Your Highness, we're going down now." Queen Ayesha warned when she noticed Sarah sitting a bit too relaxed on her back. The last thing she wanted to do was drop the Goblin Queen just after having won her back from Queen Morgana. The large dragon wheeled in the sky, flashing deep blue and green scales as she descended. Once they landed, the Queen noticed how the colors she took for granted stood out starkly in the shadowed world around her.  
  
Every rock, bush and shadow was completely devoid of color. Everything was black, white and disturbing shades of gray that made all the members of the rescue party shudders and drift closer together. Almanac wondered briefly why there weren't any sentries posted to guard the entrances into the kingdom but then he realized that every shadow was capable of telling their Queen exactly where her enemies were.  
  
"Quickly, it's not safe to loiter." Ayesha whispered as she folded her wings and began to stomp towards the castle that seemed so very far away. Sarah straightened her jeans and hurried to keep up with the large dragon as Almanac brought up the rear.  
  
'Poor Almanac,' Sarah found herself thinking as she had to take five steps to match just one of Ayesha's lumbering stomps. 'He never asked for any of this. He only wanted to love Michu and have her feel the same way towards him.' He looked rather small and defenseless at the moment with his hollowed expression and the drastic amount of weight he had lost since leaving the Mortal Realms. Only his voice seemed to still possess the magic he had always had with it.  
  
"Quiet," Ayesha whispered, shocking Sarah out of her musings. They had arrived at the onyx gates of the Shadow Labyrinth. Almanac came up behind Sarah and looked at it thoughtfully before he walked towards the doors and gently pushed them open. Several shadows formed behind them but Almanac was already in the Labyrinth and the two Queens had hurried in after him.  
  
Queen Morgana stood behind them, wrapped in her eternal shadows and looking them over with those cold red eyes that gave grown men nightmares. Running a hand over the doors of her Labyrinth, Queen Morgana gave them such a wide smirk that her teeth glistened dangerously.  
  
"Welcome Your Majesties. I'm quite surprised to see you again Queen Sarah and you as well, King Almanac." Her eyes glowed for a moment and her smirk, if possible, widened. "Though I don't know what the three of you want in MY Labyrinth." Sarah cleared her throat and set her chin stubbornly.  
  
"If we win, you have to allow us into the castle and out without any sort of restraint or holding us back." Morgana tilted her head slightly, slowly turning her smirk into a twisted smile.  
  
"And what do I get if I win?"  
  
"Me." Almanac growled between gritted teeth. Sarah turned to yell at him but Morgana spoke before her.  
  
"Deal," Morgana vanished and the doors of the Labyrinth snapped shut. Sarah felt as if the doors to her freedom had yet again been slammed shut. She could even hear Morgana's laughter from deep within the castle just as she had heard Jareth singing to her little brother so many years ago. Ayesha and Sarah turned to scowl at Almanac, who ignored both of them as he began to walk down the right corridor.  
  
"What? She wouldn't have accepted any other offer besides that and you know it. She's wanted me all along and she'll likely try to kidnap we anyway. Just follow the plan alright? Everything will be fine." Sarah sighed tiredly and hurried to catch up with him just in case Morgana was planning to cheat early on.  
  
Sarah stared up at the castle worriedly, watching as a faint glow of red gave the eerie impression that the castle was curtained with a thin film of blood that made their current situation all the creepier. This was not the Goblin Labyrinth and this was not the Pixie Labyrinth either, both of which were frightening in their own ways but still managed to retain some sort of warmth or at least death as a solution to suffering. In this place, death seemed to be just a gateway to more torture and life was far worse because a person could feel pain and KNOW their fate before being brutally murdered in some way.  
  
Almanac boldly walked through the first curve they discovered and the three of them walked towards the castle at the edge of the Labyrinth. Sarah gradually began to release several things that Queen Morgana had failed to mention, such as the time limit and to warn them against going into the Labyrinth as Jareth had done so long ago. This only made Sarah feel even more guilty about her time in the Labyrinth as she recalled how many times Jareth had saved her in a game that he was playing as her enemy. She should have figured out his true feelings long ago.  
  
She mentally shook herself and reminded herself that now was not the time to dwell on the past. She had to be brave and fight to get Michu back while making sure Almanac didn't do anything stupid. This was rather funny considering Sarah had done most of the stupid things over the years. She chuckled to herself when she realized she would have to be the level-headed one for once since Michu and Almanac were in no state to calmly point out that loosing one's head in a situation like this wasn't the wisest idea, especially when so much was at stake.  
  
Quite suddenly, Sarah heard the soft crackle that she had learn from experience meant that the Fireys were coming. She immediately grabbed onto Almanac to make sure no one tried to steal him during the ensuing chaos that she knew was coming. Sarah wasn't disappointed.  
  
Four black masses of feathers popped out from behind gnarled, tortured trees, their sharp teeth bared and human skulls at the ends of two stakes they held that looked suspiciously like wooden spears though they were pitch black. Next sprang two white Fireys, swaying their tails and showing off skulls at the very ends of their tails. All opened their mouths and screeched at once.  
  
"No problem . . . nothing to worry about . . . we just your heads . . . that's just what SHE said!" They sang, their voices tinged with malice and disgusting delight. Sarah felt a sinking in her stomach that told her these Fireys wouldn't take to anyone throwing their heads away. She even doubted they would take kindly to her breaking their rules. Something about the rattling sound they made between their teeth warned Sarah even more urgently that they probably didn't even HAVE rules except "kill". As the three of them ran as fast as their feet (or claws) could carry they, Sarah had the sinking feeling that she wasn't going to like this Labyrinth anymore than she had liked the others.  
  
Toby lounged on one of the stones beside the waterfall in the Pixie gardens. He was fighting with self loathing and a growing hatred for Tina, who shied away from him whenever she saw him and sent notes through Jake telling him how sorry she was. At one point he had grown so infuriated with her that he had yelled at her at the top of his lungs, nearly scaring the flesh off several of the guards.  
  
"WHY WOULDN'T YOU LEAVE IT BE? IT WAS NONE OF YOUR BUISNESS! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE IT BUT DID YOU LISTEN? NO! YOU PLAYED HERO WITH SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND!" Toby could still hear Almanac's rants rocketing through his head when the news of Michu's kidnapping had reached his ears and he was unwittingly allowed a moment alone with Tina. Truth be told, it had been a mistake that later involved Tina with a broken eye and a fit of sneezes from a spell Jareth had cut off in mid-cast. Even Tina knew that the spell had been intended to be far more lethal and dangerous.  
  
Sitting back and listening to the water crashing behind him, Toby suddenly realized that the water was no longer as loud as he remembered. There seemed to be some sort of wall blocking off the sounds of the water from his field of sound. Turning around slowly, Toby's mouth dropped open when he realized that there was a large layer of ice surrounding the waterfall and the pool behind him was completely frozen. The fish trapped inside were held firmly in place, frozen for who knew how long.  
  
"You wish to be taken away?" A beautiful, icy voice whispers against Toby's ear. Toby whirled around to find a beautiful woman dressed in transparent white dress, her soft whit hair thickly coated in snow and ice. Something inside of Toby, some tiny nagging voice told him that this beautiful creature was a Snow Dancer. "You wish to be taken away?" She asked again, her voice raspy with cold. Toby stared at her for a long time before shaking his head.  
  
"Not this time." He whispered softly. The Snow Dancer tilted her head curiously, pressing her pale hands behind her back. He smiled up at her apologetically. "I'm not going to run away this time. I'm going to apologize to Michu when she comes back. I'm going to find out what happened exactly between Sarah and Jareth. I'm not running away."  
  
The Snow Dancer peered at him curiously for a long moment before she broke out into a wide smile, the snow in her hair and cheeks vanishing. She became a glowing woman in a soft yellow sundress, her skin a golden tan color and her eyes bright with tears.  
  
"Thank you for breaking the curse on me . . . ." She whispered as she vanished in a burst of steam. The waterfall became water again and Toby felt as if the entire garden was suddenly filled with warmth where there had first been so much coldness and despair. And that was how Toby, the younger step brother of the Goblin Queen, saved an enchanted princess from an eternity in ice and snow. With his renewed conviction, Toby returned to the castle and began to make plans.  
  
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of things and I apologize to everyone who's been waiting for so long. I'll try to crank out chapters as often as I can but as a Junior *nearly dies from the shock of it* I'll probably be having a lot more work to do in school. Review please! 


	18. Lost Soul Fights for Life

Chapter: Lost Soul Fights for Life  
  
Michu walked slowly behind her new mistress, watching as the shadowed woman stared into a dark cauldron, murmuring soft declarations of possession as she stared down at a young man that Michu felt she should have known. But there was no way that she could know anyone that her mistress possessed. After all, Michu was nothing more than the lowest of hand maidens, a servant to the Queen of Shadows and far worse then dirt under the shoes of even peasants.  
  
Still, the small pixie peeked at the young man when her mistress wasn't watching or was too caught up in staring at him, licking her lips and whispering promises that Michu didn't want to hear about. His eyes were hollow and dark, speaking volumes to her soul, making a slow fire burn throughout her blood. She couldn't understand how or why she had suddenly found an interest in the man that her mistress had chosen as her own. All she could do was shuffle into the room and casually glance at her fantasy while she mopped the floors or helped dress the Queen.  
  
The lowly slave knew things that she knew were never meant for her ears yet she couldn't help remembering every detail she heard. The Queen always spoke of a Goblin King and Queen that she loathed and wished the darkest curses upon. She wished curses on so many people but she sent the worst of her anger and fury towards Michu herself.  
  
The little threats and hatred were shown in very subtle ways. Michu would enter a room and clean it thoroughly but she would leave for only a moment to return to find it filthier than before. Things would go missing and be blamed on her, shadows would follow her, terrify her to the point where she refused to bathe for fear of what they might do at the sight of her naked body. And yet she felt as if she was tied to this place. She never attempted running away though she didn't think it would be SO difficult.  
  
She quickly hurried around the castle to clean what she could, careful never to tell the Queen where she was and returning, relieved, to find the rooms that she cleaned still perfectly sparkling. As the hours passed by since her fantasy had entered her mistress's Labyrinth, she realized with rising excitement and fear that the young man was coming steadily closer.  
  
This was both a good and a bad thing. The good part about him coming was that Michu would be able to see her idea of perfection in the flash if she was lucky. Something in her yearned with all of her being to simply catch a glimpse of him but she knew that speaking to him was completely out of the question. If he got her, the bad parts all included the Queen in many ways. She had already claimed him as hers, she would kill Michu if she caught the slave even looking at him and somehow Michu was scared to see him at all.  
  
Seeing him made her blood boil with desire and yearning and when she felt like this she had to make up an excuse to be by herself, ignoring even the shadows as she desperately tried to get him off her mind by any means possibly. She would hurt herself, give herself bruises and cuts to keep her mind off him. She did this for what seemed like days and weeks. He had become a dangerous drug to her now, he was an obsession to her and she couldn't understand why or how she could possibly have fallen in love with a person she didn't even know.  
  
Michu snuck into the "Viewing Room" as she had called it and worked busily around the cauldron that was currently showing the face of the young man that she so desperately wanted to meet but knew that her punishment would be death if her wish came true. At last she couldn't take it anymore and peered casually into the cauldron. And gasped. And fell in love all over again.  
  
He had such a sad, determined face. His eyes were filled with life, shimmering with the need to accomplish whatever tasks life set before him. His hair moved as if it had a life of its own, catching the faint light in the labyrinth and giving his face an edge of maturity that his old eyes radiated. Michu felt her hands itching to run her hands through it and she hugged herself tightly to keep herself from running her hands along the surface of the water.  
  
Michu realized that if she couldn't even see him with her own eyes, she would go mad from desire. She needed to see him, savor his presence and if she was in the least bit lucky, perhaps even have him say a word to her.  
  
Without realizing, Michu had walked out of the "Viewing Room" and had slowly made her way to the basement of the castle where the dungeons were held. The sound of screams made her realize that she had reached the deepest level and she looked around with a new sense of fear. She could take torture herself but watching another being in pain sent shock waves of emotions through her body. She found that seeing others in pain made her feel sick and guilty.  
  
As she hurried along the corridor she realized that she was lost. Not only that but there were creatures staring up at her mournfully. Some were trapped under gnarled tree roots that sapped their life force and stored it in large boulders, keeping them alive and yet dead. Their eyes were glazed and they made soft whimpering sounds as they drooled all over their chests. She felt herself start to panic.  
  
"Its disgusting, isn't it." A quiet voice said behind Michu. She whirled around quickly and stared in surprise at a young man with pulsing amber eyes and the palest complexion she had ever seen. She realized from the eerie smile and the twin fangs pressed against his lips that he was a vampire. He seemed perfectly calm and controlled as he sat cross-legged in his cell, giving her a fascinated look. "You're not the Queen, so what are you doing down in the deepest pit of Hell?"  
  
Michu stared at him before tilting her head and taking a tentative step towards him. "I wasn't thinking about where I was going."  
  
"Evidently not." The vampire said in amusement. "After all, angels aren't meant to come to Hell." He leaned closer to her, his smirking widening to show more of his fangs. "But tell me why you're here angel? I hate seeing someone so beautiful placed in such a terrible place." Michu felt herself blushing slightly.  
  
"I . . . I'm the Queen's handmaiden." She whispered softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm no one special." The vampire chuckled.  
  
"I'll believe that when I stop craving blood." He smiled up at her with a slightly deranged air to his attitude though he didn't seem to want to hurt her. "I'm Prince Shiva of the Vampire Kingdom. I'm afraid I've gotten myself into a problem I can't get out of on my own. Would you mind terribly letting me out?"  
  
Michu bit her lip and shifted her stance slightly. "I don't know . . . I'll be in enough trouble being down here. Letting you out might make my punishment worse." The prince, Shiva, smirked wider.  
  
"But I can help you escape. Isn't that what you want? Why would you want to stay in a place like this?" Michu opened her mouth then closed it. Why DIDN'T she run away? Somehow everything now made sense. She turned to look at Shiva with a mixture of surprise, suspicion and awe. He had a knowing smirk on his face, fangs shining innocently.  
  
"You did this." She whispered softly. Shiva smirked wider, somehow managing to make it seem innocent.  
  
"Why do you want to see this man so badly?" Michu stiffened and contemplated simply walking away from him. Something tugged her back and she slowly looked into his amber eyes.  
  
"I love him." She admitted reluctantly. Shiva stared deeply into her eyes for a long moment before sitting back, satisfied.  
  
"Tell you what . . . you let me out and I'll help you escape. Allow me to marry your first born daughter and I will make sure that you are safely returned to a place where Queen Morgana cannot follow." Shiva tilted his head and showed his fangs in a triumphant smirk. "Do we have a deal, Queen Michu?" Michu stared at him for a long moment and gulped, wondering what it was she was meant to do. Finally she closed her eyes and made her decision.  
  
A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed! ^_^;; oh dear, I leave you with a cliff-hanger! How very evil of me! Someone has asked me where I got the idea for the Snow Dancers. The truth is, I don't recall if I got the idea from somewhere. I think most of it was original but there's always the chance that I'm mistaken. Please forgive me if I have taken it from somewhere, I don't mean to take someone else's idea. 


	19. In a Land Full of Strife

Chapter: In a Land Full of Strife  
  
Almanac carefully walked into the Shadow Castle, alert and tense. It had been far too simple: at one point a loud shriek had issued from inside of the castle and everything in the Labyrinth seemed to have been frozen in place. The path had been filled with motionless shadows or monsters that didn't move so much as a hair. Sarah worriedly followed him, waiting for the creatures to move and attack them once they relaxed. Almanac entered the castle gates just as Ayesha was about to poke her head through the doorway to burn anything dangerous but Almanac vanished with a pop once his foot touched the stone floor!  
  
"Almanac!" Sarah screamed and tried to grab him when he vanished but she was too late. Ayesha and Sarah looked at each other, confused and surprised.  
  
Almanac appeared quite suddenly at the top of an enormous staircase. He was dressed in a silver and white tuxedo, a large crown studded with diamonds and all other stones placed into it regally. Under normal circumstances he would have flung the thing off him: he hated such things. But he was spell-bound, looking around curiously at the rest of the room for a hint of where he was. A woman appeared at his side, smiling adorably up at him.  
  
"You came!" Michu said as she gently kissed his shoulder and pulled him into the dance floor, ignoring everyone else as they leered at them. She wore a rather revealing red dress that made her skin appear even paler than it really was, her lavender hair bouncing slightly as she slide into his arms. Almanac frowned slightly, confused and disoriented. Where was he? Why had Michu just . . . walked into his arms like that? Wasn't she still under the influence of the spell that made her believe she was in love with Jareth?  
  
"Michu?" Almanac whispered, tilting his head to look down at her. She was staring deeply into his eyes, hers the deepest blue. He felt his heartbeat increase and a warm feeling spread throughout his body. Suddenly nothing else mattered in the world. Almanac didn't mind that Michu's hands were straying lower than the small of his back and that there seemed to be a few flecks of red in her eyes. She was with him, she loved him and she wanted to be with him forever in this wonderland of dancers and music.  
  
Quite suddenly, the lights flickered and Almanac felt disoriented again. Something was wrong, he suddenly felt uncomfortable with all of the hungry looks he was receiving from the other guests. Michu suddenly didn't fit quite as nicely as he thought she would and her eyes were no longer beautiful but sinister in some way.  
  
"Excuse me, may I cut in?" Michu's beautiful face transformed instantly into that of a monster's when she became angry. It wasn't that her features changed exactly, it was more as if she was showing some evil side to her that was only visible when she was angry. A very handsome man with midnight black hair and devilish amber eyes swept her away from him, showing off two innocent fangs as he dragged her away. Almanac felt suddenly relieved and began to lazily trek around the room. The dancers no longer showed an interest in him, ignoring him completely to watch their mistress.  
  
Almanac felt his chest tighten when the real Michu looked at him shyly from behind a pillar. She was dressed in rags and desperately trying to push her hair out of her face. He could tell that she thought she looked improper but all he could do was stare at her. She didn't have that destroyed look, she wasn't avoiding his gaze; she was just looking shy and absolutely delicious. Almanac gradually pushed his way towards her, making her look a bit panicked.  
  
"Michu?" He whispered once he reached her, staring at her face carefully for any hint of a trick. She bit her lip nervously and stared up at him through her lashes, tucking a strand of her lavender hair behind her pixie ear nervously.  
  
"Y-Yes, t-that's my name." She whispered nervously, looking slowly past him to where Queen Morgana was shrieking and clawing at Shiva to make him let her go. Shiva, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, spinning her around and occasionally nipping her ear when she tried to yell at him. He was slowly but surely bottling her up, preparing to make her explode with rage and frustration.  
  
"Don't be nervous around me Michu." Almanac pleaded, reaching out to gently run a finger along her cheek. She blushed fiercely up to the root of her hair, looking at him in surprise. "I don't want you to be nervous around me." He pleaded, staring down into her eyes worriedly. Did he dare tell her how he felt?  
  
"I . . . I'll try." She whispered softly, trying to look away. He wouldn't let her as he very gently pressed her back against the pillar she had been hiding behind, taking a hesitant step closer. Almanac took a deep breathe, surprised by her scent. She smelled like a mixture of pixie magic and enchanted forests, a smell he realized he had dreamed of since he had been born.  
  
Throughout his childhood he had snuck off into the enchanted forests around his castle, reveling in the quiet beauty they possessed and the wonderful smell they had. And here was Michu, smelling of pixie dust with a pleasant tang of his favorite scent. He wasn't quite sure he would be able to restrain himself if she looked at him in that vulnerable way she always did when she was hurt by something Toby had said or after he's had a tiny disagreement with Sarah over something trivial. If she looked at him like that he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself.  
  
"Who are you?" She finally whispered, staring up at him pleadingly. "I've had dreams about you but I can't . . . remember who you are. Please tell me!" Almanac wasn't sure why the fact that she had had a forgetfulness spell placed on her surprised him. That would have been one of the first things Morgana would have done and of course treating Michu like a servant would be the next best thing besides killing her outright. Michu hated being humiliated and treating her like a servant certainly counted as humiliation.  
  
"My name is King Almanac of the Kingdom of Dreams. I've come to rescue you from this place." Michu's eyes widened and she blushed even more fiercely, biting her lower lip. Almanac felt himself melt inside, wondering very much if she tasted as good as she looked.  
  
"Like . . . prince charming?" Almanac blinked in surprise. He finally noticed that he had never seen Michu blushing. Also, since when was Michu a romantic? She seemed more of the kind of person with a realistic mind set, too down to earth to even consider such a silly notion as prince charming, as strange and rare as that was with Fae and all magical creatures.  
  
"If you want me to be." Almanac said breathlessly, leaning his head down level with hers. She was so close, she didn't show any signs of wanting to push him away . . . could he just taste her? Just once? She looked so delicious!  
  
Michu stared up at him, breathe catching in her chest. Did she dare lean forward just an inch? He was so close, she had dreamed of this so often! Michu liked to tell herself she was brave but at that moment she knew she was a coward. She was paralyzed.  
  
Almanac finally gathered his courage and leaned forward, very gently brushing his lips against hers. A pleasant shock went up their spines, making both shiver and lean closer to each other. Michu hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, melting into his arms. Almanac pulled her closer, letting his hands rest on her hipbone. God, she tasted better than he could have ever imagined. He felt as if he was drowning in her warmth, swallowing her up eagerly.  
  
The moment Almanac allowed his tongue to gently trace her lips was the moment Morgana exploded and the illusion shattered. The Queen of Shadows was pissed and she was NOT about to let a stupid little Pixie Queen get what she had worked so meticulously to have!  
  
A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed! Please excuse the delay, @_@ Junior year is being more work than I could have ever imagined. Until next time! Please tell me what you think! I'd love to see what people think will happen. 


	20. Author's Note

Author's Note: This story has been and will continue to be on hiatus for a while. I am sorry to the fans who still want to follow the stories but I have some great news about my professional writing career. I wanted to let everyone know that I have recently finished my first original fiction novel and I am currently in the publication mode. For more information on this, please look at my profile and also go to my new website at to find out about **Skull Juggler: Disenchanted**** by Natalia Locatelli** (that's me), the first book in my four book series. As of today I have an amazing cover and I will be sending my manuscript (the book in a word document) to be formatted for a book in the next week or so.

As I have posted for Vocare Prabia, my most popular Harry Potter story, I will be uploading this book as an ebook as well as a softcover book to Amazon in the coming months (for those who are curious, I am self publishing for now) and it will be available soon, at which point I'll let you guys know it's up. Also, although the book will be available at that time, I suggest that those who want to buy it wait for my special launch day (which I will tell you of when the time comes closer). During this special launch day, if you buy the book you will also get all kinds of free goodies to go along with it! So as I said, if you can stand it, wait until the launch day to buy it if you decide you want it. I apologize to those who are not interested in my own novels but I know that some people are my loyal fans and have asked me about my personal work so I thought this was the best method to get my news out.

If you want more information on my publishing process, what I'm doing marketing-wise to get my book off the ground, and just to see what the story is about, go to my homepage at as I said. I'll be blogging about updates and I won't spam here anymore so that those who are not interested don't have to read it. For those who ARE interested, head on over :)

Amber Evans Potter a.k.a. Natalia Locatelli


	21. Second Author's Note Off Hiatus

Author's Note: Okay guys, I don't know if you've noticed or not but there has been a flurry of activity on my profile as of late. I'm updating again AND I'm also starting some short stories here and there. So here's the deal – I am going to update AND finish this story. I'm going back to my old notes and re-reading old chapters. But this is going to take some time to organize. What I'm thinking is that I shall update this story on Thursdays until it is complete. I am still waiting for my book to be finished (the formatting is nearly done, some minor tweaking is in order) so I have some time to kill and some writing to get back into. I shall start updating again on **August 14, 2008**. Look for the next chapter then!

I will delete my two Author's notes at the end (including this one) and anyone interested in information on my new book can go to my website at for more information.


	22. Quick Update Not a Chapter

**Quick update**: hi guys. I just wanted to let you know that I have just bought a Mac. Yay! It is an amazing computer so far and I am very happy with it. I'm currently updating it so that it has all of the files I need to use this computer fulltime instead of my old one. Please bear with me as I transfer my files to this new computer and get used to the new system. The chapters I have promised may be coming a bit late as a result but have no fear, the updates will continue as scheduled. Unfortunately, the **Labyrinth of the Heart **update for last Thursday will have to wait until I have completed this transfer. I thought I had my old files but as it turns out, I never transfered these files to even my old laptop. As some of you may know, my old OLD laptop crashed and lost a lot of my old files. It turns out that I never bothered to download the chapters of Labyrinth of the Heart I had online. Don't worry, this will all get done now. Just a heads up though that this is going on and may delay things.

This message will be deleted within a week or so and regular updates will continue at that point.


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